QB 


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t*BJs*v 

;i  &  so 


THE  MOON. 


Prom  a  Photograph  &#  the  Author* 


THE 


CONSTELLATIONS 

AND 

HOW  TO   FIND   THEM 

13  MAPS,    SHOWING    THE    POSITION    OF    THE    CONSTELLATIONS    IN    THE    SKY 
DURING    EACH    MONTH    OF    ANY    YEAR 

A    POPULAR   AND    SIMPLE    GUIDE    TO    A    KNOWLEDGE 
OF    THE    STARRY    HEAVENS 

WITH  INTRODUCTION,  GENERAL  EXPLANATIONS,  AND  A   SEPARATE  DESCRIPTION  OF  EACH  MAP 

BY    WILLIAM     PECK,    F.R.A.S. 


SILVER,  BURDETT  *?  COMPANY, 

NEW    YORK,    BOSTON,    and    CHICAGO. 


Uniform  with  this   Volume. 

THE  SOUTHERN  HEMISPHERE  CONSTELLATIONS,  and  How  to 
Find  Them.  Being  the  Stars  visible  in  the  Southern  Hemisphere.  14  Star  Maps, 
each  6J  inches  in  diameter,  with  descriptive  letterpress.  Cloth,  4/6  ;  Cloth  Back,  3/6. 


Works  by  W.  PECK,  F.R.A.S. 

MAP  OF  THE  MOON.  With  descriptive  letterpress  and  Index  to  300  Craters. 
For  the  use  of  those  possessing  small  Telescopes.  Demy  410.  Paper  Cover,  I/-. 

A  POPULAR  HANDBOOK  AND  ATLAS  OF  ASTRONOMY.  A  Complete 
Guide  to  a  knowledge  of  the  Heavens.  43  Quarto  Plates,  including  Photographs, 
Charts,  Views  of  Planets,  List  of  Interesting  Objects  for  Telescopes,  &c.  21/-. 

THE  OBSERVER'S  ATLAS  OF  THE  HEAVENS.  4S  Folio  pages  of 
Astronomical  Charts,  embodying  the  results  of  the  most  modern  observations. 
Including  large  Map  of  the  Moon,  also  Catalogues  of  Double  Stars,  Nebulae 
Variable  Stars,  &c.,  &c.  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  Net  21/-. 


By  Rev.  JAMES  GALL. 

AN  EASY  GUIDE  TO  THE  CONSTELLATIONS  of  the  Northern  Hemi- 
sphere. 30  Plates  and  descriptive  letterpress.  Specially  suited  for  beginners,  or 
as  a  text-book  for  schools.  ..  ..  ..  Cloth,  1/6;  Cloth  Back,  I/-. 

THE  PEOPLE'S  ATLAS  OF  THE  STARS.  With  letterpress.  A  Companion 
to  the  Easy  Guide.  . .  . .  . .  . .  . .  . .  .  •  !/•• 


By  M.  A.  ORR. 

AN  EASY  GUIDE  TO  SOUTHERN  STARS.    Uniform  with  the  above  "Easy 
Guide  to  the  Constellations."     For  the  Southern  Hemisphere. 

Cloth,  1/6;  Cloth  Back,  I/-. 


CONTENTS. 


PHOTOGRAPH  OF  THE  MOON,          ...,.»,...      Frontispiece. 
INTRODUCTION,       .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .3 

FIG.  i.  The  Southern  sky  4000  years  ago,        ........  3 

FIG.  2.  North  Polar  Heavens  4000  years  ago,  .  .....  4 

THE  OLD  CONSTELLATION  FIGURES,          .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .4 

GENERAL  EXPLANATIONS,   ........... 

THE  MAGNITUDES  OF  THE  STARS,  .........          9 

FIGS.  3  and  4.  The  Stars  visible  to  the  naked  eye  in  the  Northern  and  Southern  Hemispheres.  9 

THE  PLANET?,         ............  9 

SHOOTING  STARS,    ............         10 

FIG.  5.  Radiant  point  of  the  November  Meteors,         .......         10 

THE  MILKY  WAY,  ........  .  IT 

FIG.  6.  Small  part  of  the  Milky  Way  as  seen  with  a  Telescope,  .  .  .  .  1 1 

PLATE  A,  AND  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  CONSTELLATIONS  SURROUNDING  THE  NORTH  POLE,          .  .         12 

PLATE  B,  AND  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  CONSTELLATIONS  SURROUNDING  THE  SOUTH  POLE,  .  .         13 

NAMES  OF  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  CONSTELLATIONS,       .  .  .  .  .  .  .15 

NAMES  OF  STARS  IN  NORTHERN  LATITUDES,  AND  GREEK  ALPHABET,      .  .  .  .  .16 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  OCTOBER  AND  NOVEMBER —     MAP  I.,  .  .  .  .  .17 

FIG.  7.  The  Plough,     .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  •         1 7 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS   FOR   NOVEMBER  AND   DECEMBER — MAP  II.,          .  .  .  .  .18 

FIG.  8.  Cassiopeia  with  the  new  Star,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .18 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  DECEMBER  AND  JANUARY —     MAP  III.,         .  .  .  .  .19 

FIG.  9.  The  Pleiades,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .19 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  JANUARY  AND  FEBRUARY —      MAP  IV.,         .  .  .  .  .20 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  FEBRUARY  AND  MARCH —        MAP  V.,  .  .  .  .  .21 

FIG.  10.  The  Praesepe  or  Bee-hive,      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .,21 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  MARCH  AND  APRIL —  MAP  VI.,          .  .  .  .  .22 

FIG.  it.  The  Northern  Crown,  showing  the  New  Star,  •.  .  .  .  .  .22 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  APRIL  AND  MAY —  MAP  VII.,        .....         23 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  MAY  AND  JUNE —  MAP  VIII.,      .....         24 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  JUNE  AND  JULY —  MAP  IX.,         .  .  .  .  .25 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  JULY  AND  AUGUST —  MAP  X.,  .  .  ,  .26 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  AUGUST  AND  SEPTEMBER —      MAP  XI.,         ...  .27 

FIG.  12.  Cygnus,  with  New  Star,          ...  .....         27 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  SEPTEMBER  AND  OCTOBER —    MAP  XII.,        .....         »S 


101636 


"  Heaven, 

Is  the  Book  of  God  before  thee  set, 
Wherein  to  read  His  wondrous  works,  and  learn 
His  seasons,  hours,  or  days,  or  months,  or  years  : 

****** 
For  wonderful  indeed  are  all  His  works, 
Pleasant  to  know,  and  worthiest  to  be  all 
Had  in  remembrance  always  with  delight ; 
But  what  created  mind  can  comprehend 
Their  number,  or  the  wisdom  infinite 
That  brought  them  forth  and  hid  their  causes  deep  ?  " 

— MILTON 


INTRODUCTION. 


ROM  the  very  earliest  ages  the  stars  have  been  watched  with  interest  and 
admiration,  and  their  movements  traced  out  and  applied  to  various  useful 
purposes.  Their  influences,  too,  on  the  fortunes  and  destinies  of  man,  were 
made  the  subject  of  ignorant  and  superstitious  enquiry,  as  it  was  believed 
in  those  early  times  that  the  "  stars  in  their  courses "  ruled  the  fate  of 
men  and  nations.  Nor  can  it  be  wondered  at,  that  long  before  the  motions-of 
the  heavenly  bodies  were  accurately  known,  men  would  look  up  to  the  starry 
heavens  in  wonder  and  reverence,  watching  with  superstitious  awe  those 
apparently  innumerable  ofbs.  They  would  naturally  believe  that  by  a  know- 
ledge of  the  stars  and  their  movements,  they  would  be  able  to  fortell  future 
events  with  great  exactness,  and  to  think  that  the  ever-varying  aspects  of  the 
heavens,  in  their  regular  progression,  and  solemn  and  stedfast  silence,  would, 
if  studied,  reveal  to  them  the  secret  of  their  future  destinies.  But  even  at 
i-'ig.  i.  Southern  sky  4000  years  ago.  the  present  time,  when  science  and  religion  have  so  enlightened  the  world,  there 
are  those  who,  though  they  do  not  believe  in  the  influences  of  the  stars,  or  astrology,  believe  in  planetology, 
or  in  the  power  that  planets  and  comets  are  supposed  to  have  over  famines,  pestilences,  droughts,  earth- 
quakes, and  such  like,  which  is  just  as  ridiculous  as  the  ancient  system  of  astrology.  It  is,  however,  not 
my  purpose  at  present  to  discuss  the  difference  between  ancient  and  modern  astrology,  but  rather  to  shew 
how  a  knowledge  of  the  principal  stars  and  constellations  may  be  easily  attained,  and  to  point  out  anything 
that  may  be  of  interest  in  connection  with  them. 

To  any  one  who  has  an  interest  in  the  study  of  the  starry  heavens,  there  is  no  occupation  more  agreeable 
than  to  observe  the  sky  on  a  clear  night,  and  watch  the  varied  positions  of  the  constellations  from  season 
to  season ;  noting  as  the  months  advance  familiar  stars  disappearing  in  the  west  as  new  groups  appear  in  the 
east,  till  after  the  lapse  of  a  year  the  heavens  will  again  represent  the  same  appearances. 

It  was  evidently  for  the  purpose  of  identifying  the  stars  and  finding  out  more  about  them  that  the  first 
watchers  of  the  sky  divided  the  heavens  into  groups,  or  constellations,  naturally  naming  each  group  after 
some  object  to  which  they  fancied  it  had  a  resemblance.  As  these  first  observers  of  the  heavens  were  chiefly 
shepherds  or  herdsmen,  we  can  readily  conceive  how  the  oldest  constellations  are  generally  called  after  objects 
and  animals  with  which  a  herdsman  would  be  familiar  in  those  early  times.  They  would  picture  to  themselves 
in  the  different  star-groups  the  objects  with  which  they  would  be  best  acquainted  ;  and  thus  it  is  that  we  see 
scattered  all  over  the  heavens  groups  of  stars  representing  bears,  lions,  sheep,  and  oxen ;  and  even  the  herdsman 
and  huntsman  himself. 

It  was  undoubtedly  from  the  Chaldseans  and  Egyptians  that  we  derived  this  system  of  naming  and 
recognising  the  constellations,  although  the  Arabians,  Persians,  Greeks,  and  others  have  added  many  con- 
stellations of  their  own ;  and  even  in  modern  times  a  great  many  new  names  have,  from  time  to  time,  been 
given  to  small  groups  of  stars,  which  have  not  always  been  accepted  by  uranographers.  The  idea  of  the 
constellation  figures  is  evidently  very  old,  for  there  are  few  ancient  authors  in  which  some  of  them,  at  least 

3 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

are  not  to  be  found.  Bootes  and  the  Bear  are  mentioned  both  by  Homer  and  Hesiod;  and  Job — who  is 
supposed  to  have  been  an  Arabian  chief  prior  to  the  time  of  Moses — speaks  about  Arcturus,  Orion,  and  the 
Pleiades,  so  that  a  great  many  of  the  constellations  with  which  we  are  familiar  at  the  present  day  were  known 
to  the  people  who  lived  in  those  early  ages.  It  is  probably  more  than  4,000  years  ago  since  the  oldest  star 
groups  were  first  named,  and  by  a  people — as  it  is  thought  by  some  astronomers — who  lived  in  a  country  at 
no  great  distance  from  Mount  Ararat.  At  that  time — when  the  present  names  of  the  constellations  were  first 
invented-*-the  heavens  did  not  present  the  same  appearance  as  they  do  at  the  present  day;  for  we  know 
that  the  earth,  besides  rotating  on  its  axis  and  revolving  round  the  sun,  reels  like  a  mighty  gyroscope,  but  with 
so  slow  a  motion  that  it  takes  nearly  25,900  years  to  make  one  complete  revolution  of  its  axis  round  an 
imaginary  line  perpendicular  to  the  plane  in  which -the  earth  moves.  Still  further,  as  this  axis  of  the  earth 
moves  in  its  circuit  round  this  perpendicular  line,  it  points  successively  to  different  parts  of  the  heavens,  and 
as  this  point  in  the  heavens  to  which  the  axis  is  directed  (called  the  celestial  pole)  will  not  have  any  diurnal 
motion,  all  the  stars  will  appear  to  revolve  round  it,  or  round  the  star  that  may  be  nearest  to  it ;  from  which 
circumstance  it  will  be  called  the  pole  star.  Thus  4000  years  ago,  the  earth's  axis  pointed  in  a  direction  different 
from  what  it  does  at  present,  and  therefore  the  same  constellations  at  that  time  would  appear  in  a  different 
part  of  the  heavens.  The  axis  or  pole  was  then  pointing  to  a  star  in  the  constellation  of  Draco,  called  Thuban, 
which  was  the  '  Pole  Star '  at  the  time  when  the  star-groups  are  supposed  to  have  been  first  named.  It  was  also 
the  Pole  Star  to  the  Egyptians  at  the  time  when  the  great  Pyramid  of  Cheops  was  built,  and  no  doubt  it  would 
be  of  great  use  in  building  that  structure ;  which  is  found  to  be  very  accurately  placed  with  regard  to  the  four 
cardinal  points. 

The  Pole  star  at  that  time  would  shine  down  the  long  slanted  tunnel  in  the  side  of  the  Pyramid,  and 

would  probably  be  seen  shining  in  the  day  time  as  well  as  at  night.* 

In  Plate  A  there  will  be  seen  a  dotted  circle,  whose  circum- 
ference crosses  very  near  Polaris ;  this  circle  shows  the  path  that  the 
North  Pole  of  the  earth  traces  out  in  the  heavens,  travelling  in  the 
direction  of  the  arrows,  and  making  one  complete  revolution  in 
25,900  years.  The  circle  is  divided  into  equal  spaces,  each  of  which 
represents  1,000  years,  so  that  it  can  be  easily  found  where  the  Pole 
will  be  in  the  future,  or  where  it  was  in  the  past.  It  will  be  seen 
that  this  path  of  the  Pole  passes  very  near  Thuban,  shewing  that 
at  one  time  the  axis  of  the  earth  would  point  to  that  star,  which  it 
did,  as  before  mentioned,  about  4,000  years  ago;  and  it  will  be 
further  seen  that  the  Pole  has  not  yet  reached  its  nearest  to  alpha 
of  the  Little  Bear,  which  it  will  do  300  years  hence ;  and  also  that 
in  about  13,000  years  (half  a  revolution  of  the  Pole)  from  the  present, 
Fig.  2. — The  North  Polar  heavens  4,000  the  bright  star  Vega  will  occupy  the  same  position,  with  regard  to 

years  ago.  the*  Pole,  as  Polaris  now  does. 

Fig.  2.  is  a  representation  of  the  North  Polar  heavens  when  Alpha  Draconis  was  nearest  the  Pole.  It  will 
be  seen  that  at  that  time  the  constellation  of  Draco,  the  Dragon,  occupied  the  furthest  North  part  of  the 
celestial  sphere; — and  thus  would  hold  a  prominent  position  in  the  heavens — the  star  that  was  then  brightest  in 
this  constellation  (Thuban)  would  be  the  Pole  Star  of  the  period,  4,000  years  ago. 

In  passing,  as  it  may  be  of  some  interest  to  the  reader,  we  may  mention  that  there  are  those  who  believe  that 
when  ancient  writers  speak  about  the  "  Old  Dragon  "  being  cast  out  of  heaven  and  "  his  tail  drawing  the  third 
part  of  the  stars  of  heaven,"  that  reference  was  made,  perhaps  unconsciously,  to  an  old  tradition  of  Draco 
falling  away  from  his  prominent  position  among  the  constellations,  which,  by  the  gyratory  motion  of  the 
earth,  he  has  really  done,  taking  the  surrounding  stars  with  him.  The  above  persons  also  see  in  a  whole  series 
of  constellations  near  each  other  the  story  of  the  deluge ;  in  the  ship  Argo  they  see  the  ark ;  in  Aquarius,  the 

*  It  is  from  the  tunnel  in  the  great  Pyramid  that  the  date  of  its  building  is  known,  for  beyond  doubt,  the  tunnel  was  made  so  as 
to  point  to  the  Pole  Star  of  the  period,  and  by  calculating  back  (within  reasonable  limits)  it  is  found  that  there  is  only  one  bright  star 
that  could  have  been  in  the  position  to  shine  down  the  long  tunnel ;  that  star  is  Alpha  of  the  Dragon,  Thuban,  which  would  be  in  the 
above  position  in  the  year  2170  B.C.,  the  year  (rather  century)  that  the  Pyramid  was  built. 


THE  OLD  CONSTELLATION   FIGURES, 


NORTHERN    HEMISPHERE, 


THE  OLD  CONSTELLATION   FIGURES, 


SOUTHERN    HEMISPHERE, 


THE   CONSTELLATIONS   AND   HOW   TO   FIND   THEM.  5 

Water-Bearer  (which  represents  a  man  pouring  water  out  of  a  vessel) ;  and  in  the  river  Eridanus,  the  flood  is 
represented,  with  Pisces,  the  fishes,  and  Cetus,  the  whale,  swimming  in  the  "deep  waters."  They  also  see  in 
Corvus  and  in  Columba,  the  raven  and  the  dove  that  Noah  sent  out  of  the  ark.  Again  in  Centaurus — which 
originally  represented  a  man  offering  a  sacrifice— Noah  is  perceived  offering  a  sacrifice  after  leaving  the  ark ; 
and  in  the  bow  of  Sagittarius,  the  bow  of  promise,  set  in  the  clouds  above  the  altar,  which  is  represented  in 
the  constellation  of  Ara. 

The  above  plan  of  the  ancients  in  connecting  with  the  different  star-groups,  names  suggestive  of  the  great 
events  of  the  early  history  of  the  world,  seems  easily  accounted  for,  when  we  remember  the  fact  that  the  con- 
stellations were  likely  named  (perhaps  a  few  centuries)  after  the  deluge,  when  men's  minds  were  still,  from 
traditionary  tales,  full  of  the  terrible  visitations  which  the  earth  had  witnessed,  and  so  would  easily  suppose  that 
they  saw  in  the  heavens,  outlined  by  stars,  the  whole  narrative  of  Noah's  flood. 

Those  who  thus  found  a  picture  of  the  deluge  in  these  constellations,  also  found  in  Hercules,  defeated  by 
the  serpent,  the  first  Adam ;  and  in  Ophiuchus,  the  serpent-bearer,  the  type  of  the  second  Adam  triumphant 
over  the  serpent ;  and  in  Orion,  the  noblest  of  all  the  constellations,  Nimrod,  "  the  mighty  hunter,"  with  his  two 
dogs,  Canis  Major  and  Canis  Minor,  and  the  animals  he  hunted,  such  as  Lepus,  the  hare.* 

Nearly  all  the  constellations,  as  they  are  at  present  depicted,  have  no  resemblance  whatever  to  the  objects 
which  gave  rise  to  their  names,  but  this  can,  in  many  instances,  be  easily  accounted  for.  The  motion  of  the 
earth's  axis  round  the  Pole  of  the  ecliptic,  as  already  described,  would  greatly  alter  the  positions  of  the  stars,  with 
regard  to  the  diurnal  motion  of  the  heavens,  which  would  much  affect  the  general  appearance  of  the  constellations 
as  compared  with  their  appearance  at  present.  In  the  case  of  Argo,  for  instance,  which  at  present  is  never  seen 
on  a  horizontal  keel,  as  one  would  naturally  suppose  a  ship  should  always  be  seen,  but,  about  4,000  years  ago, 
in  the  latitude  of  Chaldsea,  or  Egypt,  it  would  be  seen  just  above  the  southern  horizon,  sailing  horizontally;  so  that 
this  constellation  is,  owing  to  the  gyratory  motion  of  the  earth,  never  seen  by  us  in  the  same  manner  as  it  was 
seen  at  the  time  when  it  was  first  named.  Again,  as  the  representations  of  the  constellations  have  been  handed 
down  to  us,  they  have,  in  a  great  many  instances,  been  robbed  of  some  of  their  principal  stars,  which  have  gone 
to  form  new  constellations,  and  in  other  cases,  stars  have  been  added  to  constellations,  which  belonged  to  other 
asterisms;  so  that  now  we  do  not,  for  certain,  know  what  actually  were  all  the  stars  belonging  to  the  old 
constellations. 

The  difference  between  the  ancient  and  modern  appearance  of  the  constellations  may  still  further  be 
accounted  for  on  the  supposition  that  the  astronomers  (rather  astrologers)  who  divided  the  heavens  into  groups, 
would  not  require  that  the  stars  of  a  constellation  should  belong  exclusively  to  it,  but  would  look  upon  a 
great  many  of  the  stars  as  common  to  several  constellations.  When,  however,  the  exact  position  of  a  star  in  the 
heavens  was  required  (which  may  have  been  the  case  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  Hipparchus),  each  constellation 
would  require  to  have  boundaries  assigned  in  order  to  know  what  stars  really  belonged  to  it ;  thus,  any  star  that 
was  before  common  to  many  groups,  would  no  longer  require  to  be  so,  but  would,  henceforth,  be  exclusively 
fixed  to  one  constellation.  This  will  account  in  some  manner  for  the  lost  stars  of  some  of  the  constellations, 
without  which  the  group  would  never  have  derived  its  present  name.  There  are  instances  of  this  in  various  parts 
of  the  heavens — in  Hercules  the  star  Iota  would,  in  all  probability,  belong  to  Draco,  when  that  constellation 
was  named.  The  same  occurs  in  Coma  Bernices  (a  small  group  of  stars  near  the  tail  of  Leo  which  was  named 
by  Tycho  Brahe  in  1604)  which  at  one  time  would  likely  form  the  tuft  of  hair  in  the  tail  of  the  Lion,  and  in 
the  modern  constellation  of  Crux  (which  is  only  seen  in  the  southern  hemisphere),  it  is  thought  by  Mr.  Proctor 
that  it  originally  belonged  to  Centaurus. 

The  above  suppositions  may  account  for  the  fact  that  so  many  constellations  now  have  not  the  least  resem- 
blance to  the  objects  that  they  are  supposed  to  represent,  and  may  likewise  explain  how  the  original  constellations 
would,  when  first  imagined,  have  some  likeness  to  the  objects  from  which  they  were  named.  Ursa  Major,  the 
Great  Bear,  for  instance,  must  originally  have  had  a  striking  resemblance  to  a  bear,  for  it  was  recognised  quite 
independently  by  many  nations  besides  the  ancient  Greeks.  Draco  still  has  some  likeness  to  a  dragon  (which  will 
be  seen  by  glancing  at  Fig.  2);  and  there  are  other  constellations  besides  these,  which  have  at  present  a  resem- 
blance to  the  object  from  which  they  derived  their  names — such  as  the  Northern  Crown,  Dolphinus,  Scorpio,  &c 

*  For  a  full  account  of  the  above  see  Mr.  R.  A.  Proctor's  interesting  book  "  The  Myths  and  Marvels  of  Astronomy." 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

It  was  probably  from  the  Chaldaeans  that  the  Egyptians  derived  their  knowledge  of  the  constellations,  for  the 
architects  of  the  Great  Pyramid  are  thought  to  have  been  of  that  race,  and  they  have  shown  us  by  the  records 
they  have  left  in  that  huge  structure  that  they  were  as  far  advanced  in  astronomy  and  mathematics  as  could  be 
expected  in  those  very  early  ages.  Indeed,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  Chaldaeans,  at  the  time  the  Pyramid  was 
built,  possessed  a  far  more  accurate  knowledge  of  astronomy  than  the  Greeks  did  2,000  years  afterwards. 

The  Egyptians  would  likely  communicate  the  knowledge  of  the  old  constellations,  and  astronomy,  as  it  was  then 
known,  to  the  surrounding  nations — to  the  Arabians,  Persians,  and  to  the  ancient  Greeks,  &c. — each  nation 
adding  some  constellations  of  its  own.  The  Arabians  gave  individual  names  to  the  brightest  stars;  generally 
naming  the  star  from  the  position  it  occupied  in  the  constellation  ;  as,  for  instance,  Betelgeux  from  Ibt-al-Jauza, 
the  giant's  shoulder — that  star  being  on  the  shoulder  of  the  "  Giant  Orion." 

The  ancients  used  the  stars  for  many  useful  purposes,  in  fact  the  stars  were  to  the  people,  who  lived  two  or 
three  thousand  years  ago,  what  our  almanacs  are  to  us  at  the  present  day,  for  by  means  of  the  stars  they  knew 
when  it  was  a  certain  time  of  the  year,  whether  seed  time,  or  harvest,  or  the  beginning  of  seasons,  &<x,  all  of 
which  would  be  valuable  for  many  purposes  besides  agricultural.  They  watched  when  certain  conspicuous  stars 
rose,  or  set,  immediately  before,  or  after,  the  sun  (called  the  heliacal  rising  of  a  star),  which,  only  taking  place 
once  a  year  for  each  star,  would  let  them  know  how  far  the  seasons  had  advanced.  The  people  in  Egypt, 
for  instance,  knew  when  the  Nile  would  likely  overflow  its  banks,  by  the  star  Sirius  rising  heliacally  and  becoming 
visible  in  the  early  morning.  By  the  stars  the  Phoenicians  (who  are  supposed  to  have  been  the  originators  ot 
nautical  astronomy)  knew  in  what  direction  to  steer  their  ships  at  night  by  watching  the  Little  Bear,  which  they 
knew  to  be  always  near  the  North — as  Aratus,  referring  to  this  consellation,  informs  us — 

"Observing  this,  Phoenicians  plough  the  main." 

The  use  of  the  Pole  Star  (a  bright  star  in  the  tip  of  the  Little  Bear's  tail)  in  navigation  is  said  to  have  been 
introduced  into  Greece  by  Thales,  who  derived  his  knowledge  from  the  Phoenicians  ;  it  has  ever  since  been  used 
by  sailors  for  finding  their  position  on  the  trackless  ocean. 

In  modern  astronomy  the  old  constellation  names  do  not  hold  so  important  a  position  as  they  once  did. 
Still  they  form  a  convenient  method  for  distinguishing  the  stars,  though  to  the  practical  astronomer  the  number 
of  a  star  in  some  important  catalogue  (such  as  "Struve,  3521 ")  is  all  that  is  required  to  identify  it.  However,  to 
those  who  only  want  to  be  able  to  distinguish  the  stars,  the  old  constellations  and  the  individual  names  of  stars, 
have  a  far  greater  interest,  and  are  thus  more  easily  remembered  than  a  star  known  only  by  number  ;  and  it  is 
highly  probable  that  the  constellation  figures,  which  have  for  so  many  centuries  been  fixed  upon  men's  minds,  will 
not  be  dismissed  even  from  exact  astronomy  for  many  years  to  come ;  for  as  the  fancied  figures  in  the  different 
star-groups  had  once  such  a  hold  upon  mankind,  and  are  so  often  mentioned  by  ancient  poets,  so  they  will 
not  be  altogether  forgotten,  even  after  astronomy  has  adopted  some  more  improved  system  of  distinguishing 
the  stars  than  at  present  exists. 

In  the  light  of  the  wonderful  discoveries  that  have  been  made  in  the  siderial  heavens  since  Galileo  first 
turned  the  telescope  to  the  stars,  each  star  that  is  seen  on  a  clear  night  is  now  looked  upon  as  a  sun,  and  so 
will  be  the  centre  round  which  other  planets  revolve ;  just  as  our  sun,  which  is  also  a  star,  and  far  from  being  the 
most  important  among  its  companions,*  is  the  centre  to  its  family  of  worlds  circling  round  it — of  which  the  earth 
is  one  of  the  least — so  that 

"  The  radiant  orbs 

That  more  than  deck,  that  animate  the  sky, 
Are  life-infusing  suns  of  other  worlds." 

But  what  may  at  first  seem  surprising  is  the  fact  that,  amidst  the  all-seeming  stillness  of  the  star  depths,  there 
is  yet  going  on  a  continual  movement  and  uproar.  Each  sun  is  moving  with  a  fearful  velocity,  and  carrying  its 
family  of  planets  along  with  it.  Some  are  travelling  on  their  stately  course  at  such  a  speed  that  every  hour  they 
pass  over  a  space  equal  to  three  thousand  miles.  Our  sun  is  also  travelling,  and  with  a  great  velocity,!  so  that  in  fact 

*  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  our  Sun  belongs  to  an  inferior  order  of  suns,  and  that  Sirius  belongs  to  a  higher  order,  and 
at  least  exceeds  our  sun  one  thousand  times  in  volume. 

t  According  to  Sir  William  Herschel  our  sun  with  its  numerous  planets  is  travelling  towards  the  star  Lambda  in  the  constellation 
of  Hercules. 


THE   CONSTELLATIONS  AND    HOW   TO    FIND   THEM.  7 

"suns  are  revolving  round  suns,  and  systems  round  systems."  But  further,  each  orb  is  aglow  with  fiery  energy :  it 
is  a  storehouse  from  which  bounteous  supplies  of  light  and  life  are  continually  being  given  out  to  the  numerous 
worlds  that  are  kept  circling  round  it  by  the  attraction  of  its  mighty  influence.  We  know  in  the  case  of  our  sun 
that  storms  are  raging  on  its  surface,  in  which  great  masses  of  intensely  heated  vapour,  thousands  of  miles  in 
breadth,  are  rushing  onward  with  dreadful  force  and  at  a  great  velocity — a  velocity  that  is  hundreds  of  times 
greater  than  the  speed  of  a  cannon  ball.  We  also  know  of  the  great  masses  of  glowing  matter  that  are  occasionally 
Hung  from  the  sun  to  a  height  nearly  as  great  as  is  half  the  distance  from  the  earth  to  the  moon.  And  as  these 
motions  and  uproars  cannot  take  place  without  a  great  noise,  there  must  be  incessantly  produced  on  the  sun  a 
noise  compared  to  which  the  loudest  crash  of  thunder,  or  the  roar  of  the  greatest  piece  of  artillery,  will  be  as 
absolute  silence.  This,  then,  being  the  seeming  stillness  of  our  sun,  what  must  be  the  uproar  on  a  sun  exceeding 
ours  one  thousand  times  in  volume  ?  It  will  likely  be  proportionally  as  great ;  so  that  in  the  awful  stillness  of  the 
star  depths  there  is  going  on  continually  a  fearful  uproar  and  tumult,  compared  to  which  the  greatest  noise  that 
we  can  realise  sinks  into  complete  nothingness. 

Then  in  what  infinite  numbers  are  the  stars  scattered  throughout  the  universe  and  these  disturbances  going 
on  in  each  !  Each  one  is,  without  doubt,  working  out  the  purpose  of  its  great  Creator,  and  until  that  pur- 
pose shall  be  fulfilled  it  will,  like  some  mighty  engine,  work  unceasingly,  giving  out  life,  light,  and  heat  to  the 
many  worlds  that  circle  round  it.  Each  is  the  source  from  which  countless  forms  of  life  derive  their  existence, 
and  as  we  know  that  there  is,  at  least,  one  planet — probably  several — in  our  solar  system  that  is  inhabited  with 
intelligent  beings,  we  are  naturally  led  to  the  conclusion — it  would  be  unreasonable  to  suppose  otherwise — that 
those  planets  circling  round  other  suns — many  of  which  far  surpass  our  own  in  splendour — are  the  abode  of 
other  intelligences.  Again,  at  what  enormous  distances  are  the  stars  situated  from  each  other;  the  nearest 
to  us,  as  at  present  known,  being  no  less  than  20  billions  of  miles  away,  a  distance  that  is  so  great  that  it 
cannot  be  travelled  by  light  (which  moves  at  the  velocity  of  190  thousand  miles  each  second)  in  less  than  three 
and  a  half  years  !  But  at  what  a  vast  distance  must  those  stars  be  that  even  light  itself  requires  not  only  10,  20, 
or  a  100  years,  but  10,  20,  or  100  thousand  years  to  complete  the  journey  to  our  earth  !  We  do  not  see  the  stars, 
therefore,  as  they  are  now,  for  of  their  present  existence  we  have  not  the  slighest  knowledge,  but  as  they  were  10, 
20,  or  100  thousand  years  ago.  They  may  have  ceased  to  exist  for  many  years,  because  we  will  not  know  till  the  ray 
of  light  bearing  the  information  reaches  us ;  it  may  be  on  the  journey  to  tell  us  of  a  conflagration  that  has  taken 
place  on  a  star  20  years  ago,  or  that  a  system  of  worlds  has  been  destroyed.  Seeing,  therefore,  that  light 
takes  such  an  interval  of  time  to  journey  from  one  star  to  another,  we  may  perceive,  though  dimly,  how  vast  the 
dimensions  of  this  visible  universe  must  be. 

And  this  is  only  the  known  universe !  How  great  is  the  unknown  ?  For  the  many  millions  of  stars  which 
are  revealed  to  us  by  means  of  the  most  powerful  telescope,  are  only  as  "  a  drop  in  the  bucket "  to  the  infinite 
number  which  exists  throughout  the  boundless  universe !  In  fact,  all  the  stars  which  are  seen  in  the  heavens, 
together  with  our  Sun,  form  a  part  only  of  one  vast  and  complicated  aggregation  of  orbs,  of  which  there  are,  in  all 
probability,  an  endless  number  scattered  throughout  the  depths  of  infinite  space.  What,  then,  must  we  think 
when  we  thus  find,  not  only  myriads  of  stars,  but  myriads  of  star-clusters,  each  containing  millions  of  millions 
of  suns — suns,  which,  perhaps,  are  far  more  resplendent,  and  which  rule  over  hundreds  of  worlds  more  spacious 
than  our  own. 

The  mind  cannot  realise  the  meaning  and  infinite  significance  of  such  a  wondrous  scene.  And,  further, 
when  we  reflect  that,  very  probably,  each  of  these  worlds,  revolving  round  other  suns,  will,  at  some  period  or 
another  of  their  existence,  be  the  abode  of  intelligent  life,  a  deeper  meaning  is  given  to  the  words  of  the  inspired 
Psalmist, — "When  I  consider  Thy  heavens,  the  work  of  Thy  fingers,  the  moon  and  the  stars,  which  Thou  hast 
ordained ;  what  is  man,  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?  and  the  son  of  man,  that  Thou  visitest  him  ?  " 


HE  whole  heavens  appear  to  make  one  complete  revolution  in  23  hours  and  56*  minutes 
from  East  to  West,  which  apparent  motion  is  caused  by  the  rotation  of  the  earth  on  its 
axis  in  an  opposite  direction,  giving  rise  to  the  phenomenon  of  the  rising  and  setting  of  the 
sun  and  stars.  But,  besides  rotating  on  its  axis,  the  earth  also  revolves  in  an  orbit  round 
the  sun  once  in  a  year,  in  the  same  direction  that  it  rotates  (/.<?.,  from  West  to  East); 
from  which  circumstance  the  sun  will  appear  to  move  in  the  same  direction  among 
the  constellations,  making  a  complete  circuit  of  the  stellar  heavens  in  the  course  of  a 
year.f  Now,  as  it  is  from  the  sun  that  we  derive  our  time,  it  being  always  apparent 
noon  when  the  sun  and  that  part  of  the  heavens  that  he  is  in  is  due  South,  the  stars  will 
appear  to  move  forward  to  meet  the  sun ;  and  as  the  sun  is  South  at  1 2  o'clock  noon, 
the  stars  will  come  earlier  to  the  South  every  day.  As  the  earth  advances  in  its  orbit 
about  one  degree  (equal  to  4  minutes  of  time)  each  day,  the  star  sphere  will  present 
the  same  appearances  4  minutes  sooner  every  day ;  which,  in  the  course  of  a  month,  will 
make  a  difference  of  nearly  2  hours  earlier,  so  that  by  the  apparent  motion  of  the  heavens  towards  the  West  in  the 
course  of  a  year — caused  by  the  real  motion  of  the  earth  round  the  sun — the  stars  will  occupy  different  positions 
in  the  sky,  according  to  the  different  seasons  of  the  year. 

For  the  purpose  of  following  the  stars  and  constellations  from  month  to  month  throughout  the  year,  I  have 
constructed  this  series  of  Maps  to  show  the  aspects  of  the  sky  at  stated  times ;  \  and  they  are  so  arranged  that 
they  are  ACCURATE  FOR  EVERY  YEAR.  Only  the  principal  stars  of  the  most  important  and  conspicuous  constella- 
tions have  been  inserted,  as  to  a  beginner  it  would  be  very  confusing  if  the  maps  had  been  crowded  with  small 
and  faint  stars.  Lines  have  been  drawn  through  the  stars  showing  the  principal  features  of  each  constellation, 
which,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  found  to  be  of  far  more  assistance  in  identifying  a  group  of  stars  in  the  heavens,  than 
the  insertion  of  the  constellation  figures  would  have  been,  especially  as  they  are  at  present  delineated  on  some 
celestial  globes  and  star  atlases. 

Each  of  the  Maps  from  I.  to  XII.  represents  the  position  of  the  constellations  that  are  visible  at  the  day  and 
hour  stated  at  the  bottom  of  each.  The  circumference  of  each  circle  represents  the  horizon  with  the  eight 
principal  points  of  the  compass  inserted,  and  so  as  to  make  the  horizon  appear  more  natural,  there  is  roughly 
represented  the  objects  that  are  generally  seen  on  the  horizon,  such  as  hills,  &c.  The  small  cross,  seen  in  the 
centre  of  each  Map,  is  that  part  of  the  sky  which  is  directly  overhead,  or  zenith  as  it  is  called.  The  Ecliptic  and 
the  Equinoctial  have  been  inserted  in  each,  it  being  thought  that  these  lines  would  add  greatly  to  the  completeness 
of  the  Maps  without  tending  to  confuse,  as  the  former  is  the  apparent  yearly  path  of  the  sun,  and  near  which  the 
larger  planets  are  always  to  be  found,  and  the  latter  the  circle  that  divides  the  heavens  into  two  equal  parts — 
the  Northern  and  Southern  Hemispheres. 

The  moon  also  makes  a  circuit  of  the  star  sphere,  but  in  a  much  shorter  time  than  the  sun ;  for,  whereas 
the  sun  takes  one  year  to  move  once  round  the  heavens,  the  moon  only  takes  one  month  (or  more  accurately 
27  days,  7  hours,  43  minutes)  to  complete  the  same  revolution,  so  that  the  moon  will  travel  more  than  13  times 
round  the  heavens  in  the  same  time  that  the  sun  takes  to  move  round  once.  The  moon  passes  through  the 
same  constellations  as  the  sun,  but  being  sometimes  as  far  as  10  times  her  own  diameter  to  the  North  or  South 
of  the  sun's  path,  she  will  not,  therefore,  move  in  it.  She  crosses  it,  however,  twice  every  month  at  two  points, 
called  the  nodes  of  her  orbit ;  these  points  are  not  always  on  the  same  part  of  the  Ecliptic,  but  make  a  com- 
plete circuit  of  it  in  nearly  19  years. 

To  attain  a  knowledge  of  the  principal  stars  and  constellations  by  aid  of  these  Maps  is  exceedingly  simple. 
All  that  the  observer  has  to  do  is  to  take  the  Map  (see  Maps  I.  to  XII.)  that  represents  the  constellations  for  the 
month  wanted,  and  the  hours  of  observation  will  be  seen  at  the  bottom,  though  half  an  hour  or  so  on  either 
side  of  the  time  stated  will  do  well  enough  for  the  purpose  of  identifying  the  stars ;  only,  be  it  remembered, 
that  if  later  than  the  hour  mentioned,  the  stars  in  the  Eastern  quarter  of  the  sky  will  be  a  little  higher,  and  those 
in  the  Western  heavens  a  little  lower,  than  is  represented  on  the  Map,  and,  of  course,  if  the  time  is  earlier  than 
stated,  then  it  will  be  the  opposite  of  this. 

Take  then  the  Map,  and  face  one  of  the  cardinal  points  (say  the  North),  then  turn  the  map  round  so  that  the 
North  part  of  the  horizon  is  lowest,  and  the  cross  or  zenith  above ;  you  will  thus  have  an  exact  representation 
of  the  Northern  heavens.  Turning  now  directly  to  the  South,  and  keeping  the  Southern  horizon  underneath, 
and  the  cross  vertically  above,  you  will  see  all  the  stars  that  are  in  that  part  of  the  sky,  and  so  on  for  any  other 
part  of  the  heavens.  Thus  the  principal  constellations  that  are  visible  at  any  particular  time  may  be  easily 
found,  and  their  varied  positions  followed  throughout  the  year.  Facing  each  Map  will  be  seen  a  description  of 
the  constellations  that  are  represented. 

*  More  accurately  23  hours,  56  minutes,  4  seconds. 

t  Those  Constellations  among  which  the  Sun  moves  are  called  the  Zodiac,  or  "  yoke  of  the  sky,"  they  are  twelve  in  number,  viz., 
Ariea,  Taurus,  Gemini,  Cancer,  Leo,  Virgo,  Libra,  Scorpio,  Sagittarius,  Capncornus,  Aquarius,  and  Pisces. 

t  These  Maps  have  been  constructed  on  the  Globular  Projection,  as  it  gives  the  least  distortion  for  a  whole  hemisphere. 


THE   MAGNITUDES   OF   THE   STARS,    ETC. 

On  looking  at  the  heavens  it  will  be  seen  that  the  stars  do  not  all  shine  with  the  same  brilliancy ;  for  some 
shine  with  more  brilliancy  than  others.  Astronomers  have  divided  all  the  lucid  stars  (i.e.,  all  the  stars  that  are 
visible  to  the  naked  eye)  into  divisions,  each  division  being  called  a  magnitude.  Those  stars  that  appear  to  be 
the  brightest  are  called  stars  of  the  first  magnitude ;  next  to  these  come  stars  of  the  second  magnitude,  and 
so  on  till  the  sixth  magnitude  stars  are  reached,  which  are  the  smallest  stars  visible  to  the  naked  eye.  As  the 
division  of  stars  into  classes  was  made  long  before  the  invention  of  the  telescope,  the  stars  that  are  fainter  than 
the  sixth  magnitude  will  only  be  seen  with  the  assistance  of  that  instrument,  and  are  therefore  called  '  telescopic 
stars.'  They  are  classed  in  magnitudes  varying  from  the  7th  to  the  i8th  or  ipth;  these  last  magnitudes,  of 
course,  will  only  be  visible  by  means  of  the  most  powerful  telescopes  now  in  use,  nor  is  there  any  reason  why  a 
limit  should  be  assigned  to  this  progressive  diminution,  for  the  past  has  shown  that  with  every  improvement 
of  the  telescope  fainter  stars  have  been  brought  to  light,  and  if  so  in  the  past,  why  not  the  same  in  the  future  ? 

The  following  table  shows  the  relative  amount  of  light  that  reaches  the  earth  from  stars  of  the  first  six 
magnitudes,  the  first  magnitude  star  being  equal  to  too. 


First       Magnitude  equal  to  100 

Second  „  „  25 

Third  12 


Fourth     Magnitude  equal  to  6 

Fifth  „  „  2 

Sixth  r 


Figs.  3  and  4  have  been  constructed  so  as  to  show  all  the  first  six  magnitude  stars,  or  all  those  stars  that 
are  visible  to  the  naked  eye  in  the  Northern  and  Southern  Hemispheres  respectively.  The  number  of  stars  that 
are  thus  seen  in  the  whole  heavens  is  nearly  6,000 — about  2,500  in  the  Northern,  and  nearly  3,300  in  the 
Southern  Hemisphere. 


Fig.  3.       M  m,  m  ?A       Fig-  4- 


eje  in  the  Nor-  I    eye  in  the  Sou- 

thern   Hemi-      M  m      them    Hemi- 

spheie.  sphere. 


The  ancients  gave  individual  names  to  the  most  important  stars,  which  was  the  only  method  of  recognising 
them  till  the  year  1603,  when  John  Bayer,  of  Augsburg,  introduced  a  new  system  of  distinguishing  the  stars,  a 
system  that  has  ever  since  been  employed  by  astronomers.  In  this  system  the  names  of  the  old  constellations  are 
still  kept,  but  each  star  is  designated  by  a  letter  of  the  Greek  alphabet,  calling  the  brightest  star  in  a  constellation 
after  the  first  Greek  letter,  the  second  brightest  star  by  the  second  letter,  thus  : — a  (Alpha)  Lyrse  is  the  brightest 
star  in  the  constellation  of  Lyra,  /3  (Beta)  the  second  brightest,  and  so  on  till  all  the  Greek  letters  are  exhausted. 
When  the  number  of  stars  in  a  constellation  exceeds  the  number  of  letters  in  the  Greek  alphabet,  then  small 
Roman  letters  are  used  in  continuation,  thus  : — after  w  (Omega)  the  last*  Greek  letter,  a,  b,  c,  d,  &c.  are  used,  and 
if  more  stars  still  remain,  then  numerals  are  resorted  to.  On  page  16  there  is  given  a  table  showing  the  Arabic 
names  of  the  principal  stars  visible  in  Britain,  with  the  Greek  letters  of  each  constellatioa 


THE   PLANETS. 

Sometimes  it  may  happen  that  a  very  bright  star  will  be  seen  shining  in  the  heavens,  And  on  looking  at  the 
Maps  to  see  to  what  constellation  it  belongs,  the  observer  will  at  first  be  disappointed  to  find  that  it  has  not 
been  inserted,  and  so  will  naturally  suppose  that  the  Maps  are  imperfect  in  that  respect.  On  a  closer  inspection 
of  the  stranger,  however,  to  see  what  position  it  would  occupy  in  the  Maps  (which  is  easily  done  by  noting  if 

9 


THE   CONSTELLATIONS   AND    HOW   TO    FIND   THEM. 

it  forms  a  triangle  or  line,  &c.,  with  known  stars),  it  will  be  found  that  it  is  not  far  away  from  the  Ecliptic,  or 
sun's  path,  and  in  this  case  it  is  sure  to  be  one  of  the  planets  (i.e.,  wandering  stars).  If  the  unknown  star 
shines  with  a  clear  steady  light,  and  at  the  same  time  is  not  far  away  from  the  sun  (i.e.,  rising  shortly  before  or 
setting  soon  after  the  sun),  it  will  probably  be  the  planet  Venus. 

If  it  is  shining  with  a  bright  clear  light  and  is  situated  at  a  good  distance  from  the  sun — seen  for  instance 
near  the  South  at  midnight — it  will  without  doubt  be  the  giant  planet  Jupiter,  the  largest  planet  in  the  solar 
system.  When  the  stranger  appears  as  a  very  red  star  it  will  doubtless  be  the  planet  Mars,  and  if  seen  shining 
with  a  dull  greenish  colour,  it  will  be  the  ringed  planet  Saturn. 

As  each  of  the  planets  move  among  the  stars,  some  more  rapidly  than  others,  it  will  at  once  be  understood 
how  it  is  that  they  have  not  been  inserted  in  the  accompanying  Maps ;  for  if  they  had  been  placed  in  their  proper 
positions  for  this  year  in  the  monthly  Maps,  they  would  by  the  next  year  have  moved  from  these  positions,  and, 
consequently,  the  Maps  would  not  have  been  ACCURATE  FOR  EVERY  YEAR,  which  without  the  planets  they  really 
are. 

SHOOTING   STARS. 

WHEN  one  is  looking  at  the  heavens  on  a  clear  evening  he  is  sometimes  startled  by  a  train  of  light  suddenly 
coming  into  view,  and  gliding  across  the  sky  with  great  rapidity  and  then  disappearing.  This  is  a  meteor  or 
shooting  star.  They  may  be  seen  any  clear  night,  and  on  certain  dates, — notably  the  i3th  and  a;th  of  November, 
loth  August  and  the  2oth  April, — they  are  seen  in  very  great  numbers.  These  falling  stars  have  from  time 
immemorial  attracted  attention,  and  many  theories  have  been  advanced  as  to  their  real  nature.  At  first  it  was 
generally  supposed  that  shooting  stars  were  nothing  more  than  decomposed  fluids  floating  in  the  higher  strata  of  the 
atmosphere,  which,  after  reaching  a  considerable  height,  became  ignited,  and  thus  appeared  as  falling  stars. 
This  accounts  for  the  old  belief  that-  a  display  of  shooting  stars  was  a  sign  of  stormy  weather,  it  being  further 
thought  that  as  meteors  were  of  atmospheric  origin,  so  they  would  produce  atmospheric  disturbances,  such  as  gales 
&c.  Then  it  was  supposed  that  shooting  stars  were  the  same  as  aerolites,  or  meteoric  stones,  and  further  that 
they  had  been  ejected  from  volcanoes  in  the  moon. 

It  is  only,  however,  within  the  last  fifty  or  sixty  years,  during  which  Meteoric  Astronomy  has  been  studied,  that 
it  has  been  found  that  the  tracks  of  shooting  stars  seen  on  certain  dates,  when  traced  backwards,  point  to  a 
particular  part  of  the  heavens,  or  that  the  meteors  appear  to  radiate  from  a  certain  point  (called  the  "  radiant  point ") 

among  the  stars.  Fig.  5  shows  the  position  of  the  radiant  point  of 
the  shooting  stars  seen  on  the  nights  of  November  i3th,  i4th,  and 
1 5th.  It  will  be  noticed  that  these  meteors  appear  to  radiate  from 
a  point  which  is  situated  in  the  constellation  of  the  Lion ;  on  which 
account  these  shooting  stars  have  been  called  Leonides.  For  a  similar 
reason  the  meteors  seen  about  the  loth  of  August,  and  2 7th  of 
November,  are  called  Perseids  and  Andromedes  respectively. 

This  proved  that  meteors  had  no  connection  whatever  with  the 
earth  or  the  moon,  or,  in  other  words,  their  celestial  origin  was 
demonstrated.  The  more  reasonable  hypothesis,  which  is  now 
known  to  be  accurate,  was  then  advanced — viz.,  that  meteors  were  small 
planetary  bodies  revolving  in  an  orbit  round  the  sun ;  but  having 


Fig.  5.  The  Radiant  Point  of  the  November  Meteors. 


a  very  eccentric  path,  the  earth  would  be  nearer  at  times  to  the  ring  of  these  bodies  than  at  others,  and  in  some 
cases  would  actually  pass  through  it  Thus,  when  the  earth  was  near  to  the  ring  of  meteoric  bodies,  its  great 
attractive  influence  would  draw  many  of  them  down  to  it;  and  as  they  neared  it  their  velocity  would  be 
momentarily  accelerated,  so  that  by  the  time  they  reached  the  atmosphere  their  speed  would  be  so  great  that 
it  would  generate  an  immense  heat — caused  by  the  friction  of  the  air — a  friction  which  is  generally  more  than 
sufficient  to  consume  them  before  they  can  reach  the  surface  of  the  earth.  If  any  of  these  meteoric  stones  are 
large  enough  they  will  not  be  wholly  burnt,  but  part  of  them  will  arrive  at  the  earth's  surface  at  an  extremely 
high  temperature.  Many  of  these  aerolites  have  been  found  in  various  parts  of  the  earth,  and  some  have  been 
picked  up  shortly  after  they  had  fallen  and  while  yet  hot.  In  our  museums  at  the  present  day  there  are  seen 
specimens  of  meteoric  stones,  which,  probably  have  travelled  through  space  for  many  millions  of  years  before 
they  came  within  the  attractive  influence  of  our  earth,  and  were  thus  brought  down  to  us. 


10 


THE   CONSTELLATIONS   AND    HOW   TO    FIND   THEM. 

Lately  the  orbits  of  meteors  have  been  discovered  to  be  identical  with  the  paths  of  known  comets,  and  are 
thus  found  to  be  immense  masses  of  stones,  and  meteoric  dust  following  in  the  train  of  comets  revolving  round  the 
sun.  It  is  probable,  too,  that  these  comets  with  their  trains  of  meteors,  have  at  one  time  been  ejected  from 
other  suns,  or  from  the  stars.  For  the  meteors  now  belonging  to  our  system  would  not  likely  be  expelled  from  our 
sun,  as  any  matter  ejected  from  the  sun  would  either  be  entirely  carried  away  from  our  system,  or  if  not  thrown 
away  from  him  with  sufficient  force,  it  would  return  to  his  glowing  surface,  so  they  must  have  travelled  from  other 
suns,  till  coming  within  the  sphere  of  our  sun's  attraction,  their  paths  would  be  so  altered  that  they  would 
henceforth  revolve  round  him.  These  meteors,  then,  are  actually  parts  of  the  stars.  Now  as  the  stars  are  situated 
at  inconceivable  distances  from  each  other,  the  comets  with  their  meteor  trains,  though  sometimes  travelling  at 
great  velocities,  must  have  taken  millions  of  years  to  journey  from  one  star  to  the  other ;  and  as  they  probably  would 
make  many  journeys  from  star  to  star  before  being  caught  by  our  sun,  the  number  of  years  since  they  were 
expelled  from  a  star  may  be  so  great  that  the  sun,  from  which  they  were  ejected,  may  now  be  cold  and  dead. 

THE  MILKY  WAY.        (NORTHERN  HEMISPHERE). 

ON  any  dark  and  clear  night,  when  there  is  no  moon,  a  large  band  of  cloudy  light  will  be  seen  stretching  right 
across  the  heavens  from  one  side  to  the  other.  This  is  called  the  Milky  Way.  The  position  of  this  luminous 
zone  in  the  sky,  for  any  particular  time,  will  be  found  by  referring  to  the  monthly  Maps.  In  our  latitudes  it  will 
be  seen  passing  through,  or  near,  the  constellations,  Scorpio,  Sagittarius,  Aquila,  Cygnus,  Cepheus,  Cassiopeia, 
Perseus,  Auriga,  Gemini,  and  Canis  Major.  That  part  of  its  course  extending  from  Canis  Major  to  Auriga,  is 
exceedingly  faint  and  regular  in  outline ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  part  which  traverses  the  constellations  of 
Scorpio,  Sagittarius,  Aquila,  and  Cygnus,  is  more  conspicuous,  and  in  appearance  very  irregular.  That  portion  of 
the  Milky  Way  which  is  invisible  to  us,  from  being  in  the  Southern  hemisphere,  passes  through  the  constellations 
Argo,  Crux,  Ara,  and  Centaurus.  In  this  part  of  the  heavens,  occupied  by  these  constellations,  it  shines  more 
conspicuously  than  it  does  in  the  Northern  hemisphere.  In  the  Ship,  Argo,  the  brighter  portion  of  the  stream  is 
completely  divided  by  a  dark  and  curiously-shaped  opening,  and  near  the  Cross  it  is  very  bright,  though  some  of 
the  luminous  patches,  seen  in  the  constellation  of  the  Archer,  may  be  even  more  brilliant. 

When  examined  with  a  powerful  telescope,  the  Milky  Way,  especially  in  those  parts  of  its  course  where  its 
appearance  is  very  conspicuous,  is  truly  a  magnificent  sight. — (Fig.  6).  Even  with  so  small  an  instrument  as  an 
opera  glass,  the  vast  number  of  stars  that  are  rendered  visible,  is  well 
calculated  to  impress  the  least  thoughtful  mind  with  a  sense  of  the  omnipotent 
power,  and  the  infinite  wisdom  of  the  Creator,  who  brought  so  many  suns  into 
existence  (for  each  of  the  many  million  stars  seen  in  the  Milky  Way  is  a  sun 
just  like  our  own  sun),  so  we  do  not  wonder  that,  when  the  celebrated 
Schroeter  was  observing  a  part  of  the  galaxy  near  Arided  (a)  in  Cygnus,  with 
a  reflecting  telescope  nineteen  inches  in  diameter,  he  was  so  impressed 
with  the  infinite  grandeur  of  the  scene,  that  it  drew  from  him  the  natural 
exclamation,  "  What  Omnipotence ! " 

But  even  before  the  telescope  was  invented,  the  Milky  Way  had  attracted 
considerable  attention  •  in  fact,  centuries  before  that  instrument  was  even 
thought  of,  ancient  astronomers  had  watched  the  luminous  band  as  it 
stretched  across  the  heavens,  and  had  even  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  its 

milky  whiteness  would,  in  all  probability,  be  produced  by  the  combined       Fig<  6"    Small  part  of  the  Milky  Way 

.  as  seen  with  a  Telescope, 

lustre  of  myriads  of  stars,  which  being  situated  at  such  vast  distances  away, 

became  individually  indistinguishable ;  and  thus  Ovid  says  that  "  It  is  a  road  whose  ground-work  is  of  stars,"  and 
Manilius  uses  similar  language. 

It  was  only,  however,  when  Galileo  first  turned  the  telescope  to  the  Milky  Way  that  its  true  nature  became 
known.  That  instrument  revealed  to  him  the  glorious  assemblage  of  stars  of  all  orders  of  brightness  ;  from  those 
which  appeared  to  him  as  bright  as  the  leading  stars  in  the  heavens,  down  to  the  smallest  visible  point  of  light, 
which  could  only  be  but  momentarily  glanced  at  as  they  glittered  like  a  sprinkling  of  diamond  dust  against  the 
background  of  the  sky. 

But  there  were  some  parts  of  the  Galaxy  that  Galileo's  telescope  utterly  failed  to  penetrate,  and  there  still 
remained  in  the  background  that  same  misty  light  which  had  for  so  many  centuries  engaged  the  attention  of 


THE   CONSTELLATIONS   AND    HOW   TO   FIND   THEM. 

astronomers ;  though  the  telescope  that  Galileo  possessed  must  have  revealed  to  him  an  enormous  number  ot 
stars  compared  to  what  he  had  only  before  seen  with  the  naked  eye.  With  every  increase  of  telescopic  power 
more  stars  were  seen,  and  greater  depths  were  reached,  but  only  to  find,  as  Galileo  had  found,  that  still  some 
parts  would  require  a  more  powerful  instrument  to  reveal  the  individual  stars,  that,  by  being  so  closely  crowded 
together  caused  this  cloudy  light.  And  even  when  Sir  William  Herschel  applied  his  powerful  reflectors — the 
largest  of  which  was  40  feet  long  and  4  feet  in  diameter — to  this  part  of  the  heavens,  and  reached  still  farther 
depths,  there  was  yet  seen  that  same  milky  light  which  speaks  of  the  myriads  of  stars  still  to  be  revealed.  Nay, 
even  Lord  Rosse  with  his  gigantic  telescope — which  is  6  feet  in  diameter  and  54  feet  long — could  not  resolve 
some  of  the  luminous  patches  scattered  throughout  the  Milky  Way,  though  in  some  directions  he  penetrated  vast 
distances  into  the  infinite  space,  and  saw  stars  so  distant  that  the  light  from  them  must  have  taken  many  hundreds 
of  years  to  journey  to  our  earth,  and  travelling,  too,  at  such  a  tremendous  velocity  that  in  a  little  over  every  five 
seconds  it  moves  through  a  space  equal  to  one  million  of  miles.  But  though  all  the  stars  composing  the  Milky 
Way  have  not  yet  been  revealed,  still  it  has  long  been  considered  as  demonstrated,  that  the  milky  light  is  caused 
by  myriads  of  faint  stars. 


THE  CONSTELLATIONS  SURROUNDING  THE  NORTH  POLE. 

Plate  A  shows  those  stars  that  never  sink  below  the  horizon  in  Britain,  and  so  they  will  always  be  visible  on 
every  clear  night ;  but,  of  course,  the  same  constellations  will  not  always  be  seen  in  the  same  position  in  the 
(Northern)  sky,  for  as  the  months  advance  the  stars  will  appear  to  move  slowly  round  a  bright  star  in  Ursa  Minor, 
the  Little  Bear  (named  Polaris,  the  '  Pole  Star,'  which  will  be  seen  as  the  centre  of  the  Plate,  or  Map),  in  a 
direction  contrary  to  the  hands  of  a  watch. 

To  find  when  this  Map  coincides  with  the  Northern  heavens,  turn  it  round  till  the  day  of  the  month — seen 
at  the  circumference  of  the  circle — is  at  the  bottom  and  Polaris  vertically  above ;  then  this  will  be  the  exact 
appearance  of  the  Northern  sky  at  1 2  o'clock  midnight  on  that  day.  If  this  Map  is  wanted  to  represent  the 
heavens  at  an  earlier  hour,  it  will  then  require  to  be  turned  to  the  left,  just  as  many  hours  from  midnight 
as  wanted  (each  of  the  short  lines  at  the  inside  circle  being  equal  to  one  hour),  and  if  later,  the  Map  will  require 
to  be  turned  the  number  of  hours  necessary  in  an  opposite  direction.  For  example  : — Suppose  that  it  is  desired 
to  set  the  Map  so  as  to  find  what  constellations  are  in  the  various  parts  of  the  Northern  sky  on  December  20, 
at  10  o'clock  in  the  evening.  First,  find  the  day  of  the  month  in  the  circumference  of  the  Map,  then  turn  it 
round  so  that  this  date  will  be  at  the  bottom;  but  as  this  will  only  represent  the  heavens  at  midnight  on 
that  day,  the  Map  will  require  to  be  turned  to  the  left  two  hours,  and  this  will  show  the  aspect  of  the  sky  at 
that  time.  Hanging  down  below  the  Pole  Star  will  be  seen  the  Little  Bear,  Ursa  Minor ;  Cassiopeia  will  be 
nearly  overhead  "with  Perseus ;  below  Ursa  Minor  the  long  straggling  constellation  of  Draco  will  be  found, 
and  in  the  North- West  the  star  Vega,  in  Lyra,  the  harp,  will  be  sparkling  brightly.  Thus  by  means  of  the 
scale  of  months  the  Map  can  be  readily  turned  to  the  right  position. 

12 


PLATE    A. 


THE  CONSTELLATIONS  SURROUNDING  THE  NORTH  POLE. 

ALWAYS  VISIBLE  IN  THE  NORTHERN   HEMISPHERE. 


THE  above  Map  is  a  representation  of  the  Starry  Heavens  near  the  North  Pole.  These  Stars  are  always 
to  be  seen  on  every  clear  night,  as  they  never  sink  below  our  Northern  Horizon,  but  appear  tc  revolve 
round  the  Pole  in  the  same  time  that  the  Earth  takes  to  rotate  on  its  axis,  and  in  an  opposite  direction 
from  the  hands  of  a  watch. 

For  a  description  of  this  Map,  and  the  manner  of  using  it  see  page  12. 

1  o 


PLATE    E. 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  SURROUNDING  THE  SOUTH  POLE. 

NEVER  VISIBLE  IN  THE  NORTHERN  HEMISPHERE. 


THE  above  Map  is  a  representation  ot   the  Starry  Heavens,   near   the  South   Pole.     These  Stars  are  not 
seen  in  Britain,  as  they  never  appear  above  our  Southern  Horizon. 
For  a  description  of  this  part  of  the  Heavens  see  page  1 3. 


THE  CONSTELLATIONS  SURROUNDING  THE  SOUTH  POLE. 

Plate  B  is  a  representation  of  that  part  of  the  Southern  heavens  which,  being  always  below  the  horizon  in 
Britain,  is  never  seen.  This  Plate  has  been  inserted  so  that  those  who  have  not  seen  the  Southern  skies  may  have 
an  intelligent  idea  of  the  stars  and  constellations  with  which  our  friends  are  familiar  in  the  Southern  Hemisphere. 
They  have  not  a  constellation  like  our  Great  Bear  always  pointing  to  a  bright  Pole  star,  but  they  have  a 
"Southern  Cross,"  which  rivals  in  grandeur  any  group  of  stars  with  which  we  are  familiar.  This  conspicuous 
constellation  will  be  seen  near  the  top  of  the  Map  towards  the  left,  just  on  the  edge  of  the  Milky  Way ;  the  two 
stars  a  and  7  are  the  Southern  '  Pointers,'  for  a  line  from  y  through  a  will  point  out  the  South  "  Pole  Star," 
o-  (Sigma)  of  Octans,  which  star  being  very  faint  will  only  be  found  with  difficulty.  Crux  is  a  modern  con- 
stellation, it  being  named  by  Royer  in  1679;  in  fact,  the  greater  part  of  the  Southern  constellations  have  been 
named  in  modern  times  and  within  the  last  300  years.  Bayer  named  12,  Hevelius  2,  Royer  5,  Halley  i 
(Charles'  Oak),  and  La  Caille  14.  All  these,  however,  have  not  been  accepted  by  astronomers,  only  the  most 
important  and  larger  groups  being  retained.  But  how  is  it  that  this  particular  part  of  the  heavens  has  not  been 
divided  into  constellations  before  ?  Why  are  all  these  constellations  modern  ?  We  see  in  other  parts  of  the 
heavens  groups  that  were  named  thousands  of  years  ago,  and  that  some  of  the  constellations  with  which  we  are 
familiar  were  known  to  the  Chaldaeans  long  before  Greece  and  Rome  were  in  existence.  When  these  (modern) 
constellations  are  carefully  examined  on  a  celestial  globe,  and  a  line  drawn  round  so  as  to  encircle  them,  it  is 
found  that  the  boundary  line  is  (roughly)  a  circle,  and  that  the  centre  of  this  circle  falls  in  the  constellation  of 
Hydrus,  near  to  the  star  Alpha.  Now,  at  first  sight,  it  would  seem  that  this  will  not  give  us  any  information  why 
this  part  of  the  heavens  was  not  divided  into  constellations  in  ancient  times.  But  when  we  find  that  the  South 
Pole  of  the  earth  at  one  time  pointed  to  the  very  centre  of  this  circle  containing  the  modern  constellations,  which 
was  the  case  4,000  years  ago,  it  lets  us  see  that,  consequently,  the  stars  composing  these  constellations  then  being 
near  the  South  Pole,  would  in  a  particular  latitude  never  appear  above  the  horizon,  and  would  thus  be  always 
invisible;  just  as  in  Britain  we  never  see  the  constellations  near  the  South  Pole  at  present,  so  that  these  stars 
could  not  have  been  seen  by  those  who  named  the  star-groups,  and  would  thus  remain  unnamed  till  some  future 
people  would  travel  further  to  the  South  and  see  those  stars,  now  the  modern  constellations. 

As  this  circle  is  about  40  degrees  in  radius,  all  the  stars  that  would  be  invisible  to  those  who  named  the 
constellations  would  be  within  a  distance  of  40  degrees  from  the  South  Pole,  so  that  if  we  find  a  latitude  where 
the  stars,  situated  within  40  degrees  of  the  pole,  are  invisible,  it  will  probably  be  the  latitude  of  the  country 
whose  inhabitants  first  named  the  star-groups.  This  latitude  would  likely  be  40  degrees  North,  but  as  the  stars 
cannot  be  distinctly  seen  very  near  the  horizon,  we  may  safely  say  that  the  latitude  would  be  a  few  degrees  to  the 
South  of  this,  so  as  to  make  the  Southern  stars  appear  a  little  higher  in  the  heavens.  Thus  the  probable  latitude 
where  the  star-groups  were  first  named,  would  be  about  36  or  37  degrees  North,  which  is  the  latitude  of  Chaldasa ; 
and  this,  too,  points  to  the  Chaldasans  as  being  the  people  who  first  divided  the  heavens  into  constellations. 

We  must,  however,  return  to  the  description  of  some  of  the  Southern  constellations.  Near  Crux  is  a  small 
group  of  stars  called  Musca,  the  bee;  and  to  the  left  of  the  cross  is  the  constellation  of  Centaurus;  the  two 
bright  stars  seen  on  the  Milky  Way  both  belong  to  this  group,  the  one  nearest  the  cross  is  /3,  and  the  other  a, 
which  is  the  nearest  star  to  our  solar  system,  as  at  present  known.  Below  Centaurus  is  Lupus,  the  wolf;  while 
between  Lupus  and  Octans  will  be  seen  the  Southern  Triangle.  Underneath  Triangulum  are  the  constellations 
Pavo,  the  peacock,  Ara,  the  altar,  and  part  of  Sorpio ;  while  to  the  right  of  Octans  will  be  seen  Hydrus,  the  water 
snake,  and  that  part  of  the  river  Eridanus,  which  we  never  see,  with  its  bright  star  Achernar,  Directly  above 
Hydrus  are  two  small  constellations,  Dorado,  the  sword  fish,  and  Reticulum,  the  net.  Near  the  top  of  the  Map 
will  be  seen  the  large  and  conspicuous  constellation  of  Argo,  which  contains  many  bright  stars,  the  principal  one 
being  Canopus.  Near  Dorado  will  be  seen  one  of  the  Magellanic  Clouds,  this  one  is  called  Nebecula  Major,  the 
other  one,  seen  near  Hydrus,  is  called  Nebecula  Minor.  When  these  nebulous  masses  are  examined  with  the 
telescope,  they  are  found  to  consist  of  small  stars,  clusters,  and  nebulae  of  every  description.  The  Milky  Way  is 
particularly  bright  in  the  Southern  Hemisphere,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  in  this  part  of  its  course  it  has  many 
branches,  or  off-shoots. 

13 


FORTY-EIGHT   OLDEST   KNOWN   CONSTELLATIONS. 


ZODIACAL 

CONSTELLATIONS, 

Symbol. 

Symbol. 

Aries,  

...     TJie  Ram.        T1 

Leo,  

.  .  .      The  Lion.          ft, 

Sagittarius,   .  .  . 

Taurus, 

...     The  Bull.         8 

Virgo, 

The  Virgin.       TTf 

Capricornus,  .  .  . 

Gemini, 

...     The  Twins,      n 

Libra, 

The  Balance.     — 

Aquarius,     ...    I 

Cancer, 

...     The  Crab.        CE 

Scorpio, 

The  Scorpion.   TT|_ 

Pisces,    

NORTHERN 

CONSTELLATIONS, 

Andromeda,  . 

Tlie  Chained  Lady. 

Cygnus,    ... 

Tlie  Swan. 

Pegasus,  

Aquila,  ... 

The  Eagle. 

Delphinus, 

Tlie  Dolphin. 

Perseus,  

Auriga,  ... 

The  Charioteer. 

Draco, 

The  Dragon. 

Sagitta,    

Bootes,    ... 

The  Herdsman. 

Equuleus, 

The  Little  Horse. 

Serpens,  

Cassiopeia,  .  .  . 

The  Lady  in  far  Chair. 

Hercules,  .  .  . 

The  Kneeling  Man. 

Triangulum,     .  .  . 

Cepheus,  ... 

King  Cepheus. 

Lyra, 

...      The  Harp. 

Ursa  Major,    ... 

Corona  Borealis,   The  Northern  Crown. 

Ophiuchus, 

The  Serpent-Bearer. 

Ursa  Minor,    ... 

SOUTHERN 

CONSTELLATIONS. 

Ara, 

The  Altar. 

Cetus, 

The  Sea  Monster. 

Hydra,    

Argo,       ...     . 

The  Ship  Argo. 

Corona  Australis,  The  Southern  Crown. 

Lepus,     

Canis  Major,  . 

The  Great  Dog. 

Corvus,    .... 

The  Crow. 

Lupus,    

Canis  Minor,  . 

The  Little  Dog. 

Crater,     ... 

..      The  Cup. 

Orion,     

Centaurus, 

The  Centaur. 

Eridanus, 

The  River. 

Piscis  Australis, 

Symbol. 

The  Archer.  £ 

The  Sea-Goat.        ft 
The  Water-Bearer,  ess 
The  Fishes.  X 

The  Flying  Horse. 
The  Rescuer. 
The  Arrow. 
The  Serpent. 
The  Triangle. 
The  Great  Bear. 
The  Little  Bear. 

The  Snake. 

The  Hare. 

The  Wolf. 

The  Hunter. 

The  SoutJiern  Fish. 


THE   MODERN   CONSTELLATIONS. 


Those  marked*  are  not  in  ordinary  use.     The  original  forms  of  those  now  used  under  some  modification  are  given  in  brackets. 


Added  under  the  Emperor  Adrian,  A.D.  130. 

*Antinous,  ...          ...          ...  Antinous. 

Added  by  Eratosthenes,  A.D.  300. 

Coma  Berenices,  ...          ...  The  Hair  of  Berenice. 

Added  by  Bayer,  A.D.  1604. 

Musca  (Apis  Musca  Australis), . . .  The  Bee,  or  Fly. 

Apus  (or  Avis  Indica),  ...          ...  The  Bird  of  Paradise. 

Chamseleon,         ...          ...          ...  The  Chameleon. 

Dorado,  ...          ...          ...          ...  The  Swordfish. 

Grus,       ...          ...          ...          ...  The  Crane. 

Hydrus,  ...          ...          ...          ...  The  Water-Snake. 

Indus,      ...          ...          ...          ...  The  Indian. 

Phoenix,  ...          ...          ...          ...  The  Phoenix. 

Volans  (Piscis  Volans), ...          ...  The  Flying  Fish. 

Pavo,       ...          ...          ...          ...  The  Peacock. 

Toucan,  ...          ...          ...     The  Toucan  (American  Goose). 

Triangulum  Australe,    ...          ...  Tlie  Southern  Triangle. 

Added  by  Bartsehius,  A.D.  1624. 
Camelopardalis,  ... 
*Musca  Borealis,  ... 
Monoceros, 
Columba  (Columba  Noachi), 

Added  by  Royer,  A.D.  1679. 

Crux,       ...          ...          ...          ...  The  Cross. 

*Fleur-de-Lys,      The  Lily. 

*Nubes  Major,     ...          ...          ...  The  Great  Cloud. 

*Nubes  Minor,     ...          ...          ...  TJie  Lesser  Cloud. 


The  Giraffe. 
The  Northern  Fly. 
The  Unicorn. 
Noah's  Dove. 


Added  by  Halley,  A.D.  1680. 
*Robur  Caroli,     ... 

Added  by  Helvelius,  A.D.  1690. 

Canes  Yenatici,... 
*Cerberus, 

Lacerta,  ... 

Leo  Minor, 

Lynx,     

Scutum  (Scutum  Sobieskii), 

Sextans  (Sextans  Uraniae), 
*Triangulum  Minor, 

Vulpecula  (Vulp.  et  Anser),    ... 


King  Charles'  Oak. 

The  Greyhounds. 

Cerberus. 

The  Lizard. 

The  Lesser  Lion. 

The  Lynx. 

The  Shield  of  Sobieski. 

The  Sextant  of  Urania. 

The  Lesser  Triangle. 

The  Fox  and  the  Goose. 


The  Sculptor's  Tools. 

The  Compasses. 

The  Chemical  Furnace. 

The  Clock. 

The  Painter's  Easel. 

The  Microscope. 

Table  Mountain. 

The  Rule,  Euclid's  Square. 

Hadley's  Octant. 


Added  by  Flamsteed,  A.D.  1725. 

*Cor  Caroli,  ...          ...          ...     King  Charles'  Heart. 

*Mons  Msenalus,       ...          ...     Mount  Mcenalus. 

Added  by  La  Caille,  A.D.  1752. 

Antlia  (Antlia  Pneumatica),     The  Air  Pump. 
Cselum  (Csela  Sculptoris),  ... 
Circinus, 

Fornax  (Fornax  Chemica), 
Horologium 

Pictor  (Equuleus  Pictoris), 
Microscopium, 
Mensa  (Mons  Mensce), 
Norma  (or  Quadra  Euclidis), 
Octans  (Octans  Hadleianus), 

Reticulum  (Reticulus  Rhomboidalis),  The  Rhomboidal  Net. 
Sculptor  (Apparatus  Sculptoris),  The  Sculptor's  Workshop. 
*Pixis  Nautica,         ...          ...     The  Mariner's  Compass. 

Telescopium,  ...          ...     Tlie  Telescope. 

Subdivisions    of  Argo :    Carina,    Tlie  Keel ;  Malus,    TJie 
Mast ;  Puppis,  The  Poop ;  Vela,  The  Sails. 

Added  by  Hell,  A.D.  1770. 

*Psalterium  Georgianum,  George's  Lute. 

Added  by  Le  Monnier,  A.D.  1776. 

*Solitarius,    ...  ...          ...     The  Solitaire  (Indian  Bird). 

*Tarandus,     ...          ...          ...     The  Reindeer. 

Added  by  Lalande,  A.D.  1776. 

*Messier,        ...          ...          ...      TJie  Astronomer  Messier. 

Added  by  Poezobut,  A.D.  1777. 

*Taurus  Poniatowskii,          . . .     Poniatowski's  Bull. 
Added  by  Lalande,  A.D.  1790. 


*Felis, 

*Globus  Aerostaticus, 

*Quadrans  Muralis, ... 

Added  by  Bode,  A.D.  1800. 

*Honores  Frederici, . . . 
*Lochium  Funis, 
*Machina  Electrica, ... 
*Officina  Typographica, 
*Sceptrum  Brandenburgicum, 
*Telescopium  Herschelii, 


TJie  Cat. 

TJie  Air  Balloon. 

TJie  Mural  Quadrant. 

TJie  Honours  of  Frederick. 
TJie  Log  Line. 
TJie  Electrical  Machine. 
The  Printing  Press. 
The  Sceptre  of  Brandenburg. 
Herscliel's  Telescope. 


THE   CONSTELLATIONS  AND   HOW  TO   FIND   THEM. 


In  the  following  Table  the  names  of  the  principal  Stars,  that  are  visible  in  Britain,  are  given, 
corresponding  to  their  letter  in  the  Greek  alphabet.— 


Constellation.    Letter.  Name. 

Andromeda  ...  a Alpheratz 

ft Mirach 

y Almach 

Aquarius a Sadalmelik 

/3 Sadahund 

8 Skat 

Aquila a Altair 

/3 Alshain 

y Trazed 

Aries a Hamal 

ft Sheratan 

y Mesartim 

Auriga. a Capella 

ft Menkalinan 

Bootes a Arcturus 

(3 Nekker 

e Izar 

Canes  Ven a Cor  Caroli 

Canis  Major. .  .a Sinus 

ft Mirzam 

Canis  Minor.. .a Procyon 

ft Gomeisa 

Capricornus ...  a Secunda  Giedi 

8. Deneb  Algiedi 

Cassiopeia a Schedar 

ft Chaph 

Cepheus a Alderamin 

ft Alphirk 

y Errai 

Cetus a Menkar 

ft Diphda 

£ Eaten  Kaitos 


Constellation.    Letter.  Name. 

Cetus o Mira 

Columba a Phact 

Corona  Bor. ...  a Alphecca 

Corvus a Alchiba 

8 Algores 

Crater a Alkes 

Cygnus a Arided 

ft Albireo 

Draco a Thuban 

ft Alwaid 

y Etanin 

Eridanus ft Cursa 

Gemini a Castor 

ft Pollux 

y Alhena 

8 Wasat 

e Mebsuta 

Hercules a Ras  Algethi 

ft Korneforos 

Hydra a Alpha? d 

Leo a Regulus 

ft Denebola 

y A  Igeiba 

8 Zosma 

Libra a Zuben  el  Genubi 

ft...  Zuben  el  Chamali 

y Zuben  Hakrabi 

Lyra a Vega 

ft Sheliak 

y Sulaphat 

Ophiuchus a Ras  Alhague 

ft Cebalrai 


Constellation.    Letter.  Name. 

Orion a Betelgeux 

ft Regd 

y Bellatrix 

8 Mintaka 

e Alnilam 

Pegasus « Markub 

ft Scheat 

y Algenib 

e Enif 

£ Homan 

Perseus a Mirfak 

....ft Algol 

Pisces a Kaitain 

Piscis  Aust . . .a, Fomalhaut 

Sagittarius a Kaus  A  ustralis 

Scorpio a Antares 

Serpens a Vnukalhai 

Taurus a Aldebaran 

ft Nath 

f] Alcyone  {Pleiad} 

Ursa  Major a Dubhe 

ft Merak 

y Phecda 

€..... Alioth 

£ ..Mizar 

17 Benetnasct: 

i Talitha 

Ursa  Minor  . . .a Polaris 

ft Kochab 

Virgo a Spica 

ft Zavijava 

. . .  e Vindematrh 


THE    GREEK    ALPHABET. 


Letter.  Name. 

a  Alpha 

ft Beta 

y  Gamma 

8  Delta 

e    Epsilon 

C  Zua 


Letter.  Name. 

r)  Eta 

0  Theta 

1    Iota 

K  Kappa 

A  Lambda 

M  ...Mu 


Letter. 

v 


Name. 

Nu 


o  ..................  ...Omicron 

7T    .....................  Pi 

P  ......  '.rti  ...........  Rho 

<r  .....................  Sigma 


Letter. 


Name. 


r  Tau 

v  Upsilon 

<£ Phi 

X Chi 

i/- Psi 

<« Omega 


DESCRIPTION    OF    MAP    I. 


N  this  Map,  the  Great  Bear,  Ursa  Major,  will  be  seen  due  North  and  at  the  lowest  part  of  its 
diurnal  course  ;  it  is  easily  recognised  by  its  seven  bright  stars,  (Fig.  7)  four  of  which  form  a 
somewhat  elongated  square.  [This  is  considered  to  be  the  most  splendid  and  conspicuous  of 
those  constellations  in  our  latitudes  which  never  set.  It  is  now  seen  to  its  best  advantage. 
The  Egyptians  called  this  constellation  the  Hippopotamus  (the  bear  being  unknown  in  Egypt), 
but  it  was  recognised  as  a  bear  by  the  Greeks,  Persians,  &c.,  and  when  America  was  discovered, 
the  Indians  in  the  Northern  part  of  that  country  knew  this  constellation  as  the  (Polar)  Bear, 
showing  that  they  had  independently  recognised  it  themselves.  It  has,  however,  many  other 
names  besides  the  Great  Bear,  such  as  David's  Car,  Charles'  Wain,  (or  waggon),  &c  ;  but  the  most  popular  name 
by  which  it  is  known  in  this  country  is  the  Plough.  This  constellation  was  used  long  before  the  invention  of 
the  Mariner's  Compass  to  guide  the  paths  of  ships  at  night,  as  Manilius  informs  us  — 

"  Seven  equal  stars  adorn  the  Greater  Bear 
And  teach  the  Grecian  sailors  how  to  steer." 

The  two  bright  stars  forming  the  right  side  of  the  square  are  called  the  'Pointers  '  (see  Fig.  7),  because  a 
line  passing  through  these  stars  in  an  upward  direction  points  out  a  bright  star  in  the  tail  of  the  Little  Bear, 
named  Polaris,  the  Pole  Star.]  Hanging  down  below  Polaris  and  to  the  left  is  the  constellation  of  Ursa  Minor  ; 
this  group  is  somewhat  the  same  shape  as  the  Great  Bear,  but  it  appears  in  an  inverted  manner.  Midway 
between  the  two  Bears  will  be  seen  the  long  constellation  of  Draco,  the  dragon,  one  of  the  oldest  asterisms  ;  y,  /?, 
and  £  represent  the  head  of  the  dragon,  y  and  f3  forming  the  eyes.  Cepheus  is  above  the  Pole  Star  ;  the  three 
stars  a,  /?,  and  y  forming  a  curved  line.  A  line  from  Alioth  (e)  in  the  Great  Bear  to  Polaris,  and  continued 
about  the  same  distance  on  the  other  side  will  point  out  the  conspicuous 
constellation  of  Cassiopeia,  which  is  nearly  overhead  ;  this  group  is  easily 
identified  by  its  five  brightest  stars  forming  the  letter  W-  Gemini,  the 
twins,  is  in  the  North-East  rising  ;  this  constellation  is  easily  distinguished 
by  two  bright  stars  (a  and  /3)  one  above  the  other,  the  top  star  is  called 
Castor,  the  bottom  one  Pollux.  Above  Castor  is  Auriga,  the  waggoner, 
its  brightest  star,  Capella,  is  now  midway  between  the  horizon  and  the 
zenith.  Nearly  due  East  will  be  seen  Orion,  three  conspicuous  stars  in  a 
line,  Orion's  belt,  are  just  above  the  horizon.  Immediately  above  Orion 
is  Taurus,  the  bull,  with  its  bright  ruddy  star  Aldebaran,  and  above  Aldebaran  is  a  conspicuous  cluster  of  stars 
called  the  '  Pleiades  '  belonging  to  the  same  constellation.  Perseus  is  midway  between  Taurus  and  Cassiopeia, 
and  on  the  Milky  Way,  which  is  very  bright  in  this  region  of  the  heavens.  In  the  South-East  is  the  long  constel- 
lation of  Cetus,  the  whale  ;  below  Cetus  is  the  river  Eridanus,  while  above  it  will  be  seen  the  first  constellation  of 
the  Zodiac  —  Aries,  the  ram. 

Looking  now  due  South,  a  large  square  —  formed  by  four  bright  stars  —  will  be  seen  between  the  point  over- 
head and  the  horizon  ;  this  is  called  the  '  Square  of  Pegasus,'  though  only  three  stars  belong  to  that  constellation. 
[The  star  forming  the  North-East  corner  of  the  square  was  formerly  called  both  8  Pegasi  and  a  Andromedae,  but 
astronomers  only  retain  the  name  of  a  Andromeda,  from  which  circumstance  there  is  now  no  star  called  B  of 
Pegasus.  This  constellation  of  the  flying  horse  (Pegasus)  was  anciently  called  '  Nimrod's  Steed  ;  '  its  principal 
stars  are  Markab  (a),  Scheat  (/3),  and  Algenib  (y).]  Andromeda,  the  chained  lady,  will  be  seen  above  and  a 
little  to  the  left  of  the  square  of  Pegasus,  while  Triangulum  will  be  seen  between  Andromeda  and  Aries  ;  and 
between  Cetus  and  Pegasus  will  be  seen  the  barren  constellation  of  Pisces,  the  fishes.  Below  the  square  of 
Pegasus,  and  very  low  down  on  the  horizon  is  the  bright  star  Fomalhaut,  the  principal  star  in  Pisces  Australis, 
the  southern  fish. 

In  the  South-West  and  a  little  above  the  horizon  is  Aquarius,  the  water-bearer,  with  Capricornus,  the  goat, 
underneath  ;  these  are  both  constellations  of  the  Zodiac.  Nearly  due  West  and  at  a  low  elevation  will  be  seen 
three  bright  stars  in  a  line,  the  brighter  star  between  the  other  two  is  Altair,  the  principal  star  in  Aquila,  the 
Eagle.  Above  Aquila  is  Cygnus,  the  swan  ;  this  constellation  is  a  very  conspicuous  one,  and  is  easily  found  out  by 
its  brightest  stars  forming  a  huge  cross.  Directly  above  Altair  there  is  a  small  group  of  stars  called  the 
'  Dolphin  '  or  Delphinus,  and  to  the  left  of  this  group  there  is  another  small  constellation,  Equleus,  the  horse. 

A  very  conspicuous  star  will  be  seen  to  the  North  of  West,  this  is  the  star  Vega  in  Lyra,  the  harp,  the 
brightest  star  in  the  Northern  heavens.  Part  of  Ophiuchus,  the  serpent-bearer,  is  directly  below  Lyra.  Hercules 
and  Bootes  are  in  the  North-West  low  down  on  the  horizon  ;  and  between  Bootes  and  Hercules  will  be  seen  the 
star  Alphecca  in  the  Northern  Crown.  1  7 


Fi 


MAP    I. 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  OCTOBER  AND  NOVEMBER. 


H-LaON 


SOUTH 

The  above  Map  is  a  representation   of   the  Starry  Heavens  in  the  Evening  at  the  following   Dates  and 

Hours  : — 

OCTOBER 


16   at 

IO.2O 

NOVEMBER    6 

at 

...         9-0 

NOVEMBER 

26 

at 

«  740 

21     „ 

10.0 

ii 

55                 ••« 

...         8.4O 

DECEMBER 

i 

7.20 

26    „ 

9.40 

16 

„ 

...      8.20 

6 

7.0 

31    „ 

...         9-20 

21 

„ 

...     8.0 

ii 

„ 

...     6.40 

i  he  circular  boundary  of  this  Map  represents  the  Horizon,  with  the  principal   points  of  the  compass 

^indicated.     The  Cross  in  the  centre  is  the  zenith  or  that  part  of  the  sky  which  is  directly  overhead. 
A  hst^  of  Arabic  names  of  the  Principal  Stars  corresponding  to  the  Greek  letters  in  each  Constellation  is 
given  on  page  16.  D 


MAP    II. 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS   FOR  NOVEMBER  AND  DECEMBER. 

HiaON 


SOUTH 

The  above  Map  is  a  representation  of  the  Starry  Heavens  in  the  Evening  at  the  following   Dates  and 

Hours : — 


NOVEMBER  16  at 

21      „ 
26     „ 

DECEMBER  i      „ 


10.20 
10.0 
9.40 
9.20 


DECEMBER  6    at 

ii    „ 
16    „ 

21     . 


9.0 

8.40 

8.20 

8.0 


DECEMBER  26  at 

JANUARY     5     „ 
10    , 


7.40 
7.20 
7-0 
6.40 


The  circular  boundary  of  this  Map  represents  the  Horizon,  with  the  principal  points  of  the  compass 
indicated.  The  Cross  in  the  centre  is  the  zenith  or  that  part  of  the  sky  which  is  directly  overhead. 

A  list  of  Arabic  names  of  the  Principal  Stars  corresponding  to  the  Greek  letters  in  each  Constellation  is 
given  on  page  16. 


"'  7  \ 


DESCRIPTION    OF   MAP   II. 

| ME  Great  Hear  has  now  moved  a  little  to  the  East  of  the  North,  the  Pointers  being  uppermost 
Car  Caroli  is  just  above  the  Northern  horizon,  shining  brightly.  The  Little  Bear  hangs 
down  below  the  Pole  Star;  while  Draco  twists  half  way  round  the  Pole,  its  tail  passing  between 
the  two  Bears,  and  its  head  under  the  right  foot  of  Hercules.  Virgil,  vide  Dryden,  says : — 

"Around  our  poles  the  spiry  dragon  glides, 
And  like  a  wand'ring  stream,  the  Bears  divides." 

[The  Alpha  (Thubari)  of  this  constellation  was  nearest  to  the  North  Pole  of  the  heavens 
upwards  of  4,000  years  ago ;  it  was  then  only  10'  distant  from  the  polar  point, — equal  to  one-third  the  apparent 
diameter  of  the  moon, — a  point  that  will  not  be  approached  by  our  present  Pole  Star  nearer  than  about  three 
times  that  distance,  equal  to  the  apparent  diameter  of  the  moon.*  The  Gamma  of  Draco  (Etanin)  is  a  star  that 
passes  very  near  the  zenith  of  Greenwich  when  due  South;  from  which  circumstance  Bradley,  the  Astronomer-Royal, 
in  1725  thought  that  this  star  would  be  favourably  situated  for  determining  its  annual  parallax  (i.e.,  the  angle 
that  the  earth's  orbit  would  make,  as  seen  from  the  star),  and  so  find  the  distance  from  the  star  to  the  earth. 
In  this  he  was  disappointed,  as  the  angle  was  too  minute  to  be  easily  detected,  but  he  made  the  wonderful 
discovery  of  the  aberration  of  light,  which  is  the  best  proof  that  the  earth  is  travelling  in  an  orbit  round  the 
sun.] 

Turning  to  the  North-East,  the  head  of  Leo,  the  lion,  will  be  seen  rising,  and  a  long  way  to  the  right  will 
be  seen  Canis  Minor,  the  little  dog,  its  principal  star  Procyon  being  just  above  the  Eastern  horizon.  The  feet 
of  the  Twins,  Gemini,  are  immediately  above  Procyon — Castor  being  directly  above  Pollux — and  above  Gemini 
is  Auriga,  with  its  conspicuous  star  Capella  shining  brightly. 

The  whole  of  the  constellation  of  Orion  is  now  fairly  above  the  horizon,  his  '  Star-gemmed  Belt '  shines  very 
conspicuously.  Taurus  is  above  Orion,  with  Aldebaran  and  the  Pleiades,  which  are  now  seen  very  plainly. 
Above  Taurus,  and  nearly  overhead,  is  Perseus  on  the  Milky  Way.  [There  is  a  remarkable  variable  star  in  this 
constellation  called  Algol  (i.e.,  the  Demon);  this  star  undergoes  a  considerable  change  in  its  brightness,  for  in 
about  4  hours  it  gradually  diminishes  in  lustre,  from  between  a  second  and  third  magnitude,  till  it  appears  as  9 
fourth  magnitude  star;  it  remains  as  such  for  about  18  minutes,  and  then  in  the  next  4  hours  recovers  its 
brightness  in  a  like  gradual  manner,  and  retains  it  for  the  remaining  part  of  its  period — viz.,  2  days,  \2\  hours. 
The  period  in  which  all  these  variations  are  performed  is  2  days,  20  hours,  49  minutes.] 

In  the  South-East,  and  a  little  above  the  horizon,  is  the  river  Eridanus,  one  of  the  old  asterisms ;  the  most 
conspicuous  star  in  this  constellation,  Achernar,  is  never  seen  in  Britain,  as  it  is  far  to  the  South,  so  that  it  is 
always  below  our  horizon ;  but  the  next  important  star,  Cursa  ((3),  is  easily  found  from  its  close  proximity  to 
Rigel,  in  Orion,  being  just  above  that  star.  Cetus  is  now  due  South,  and  in  its  best  position  for  being  well  seen. 
Directly  above  Cetus  are  the  constellations  .Pisces,  Aries,  and  Triangulum.  Andromeda  and  Pegasus  are  in  the 
South- West,  the  great  square  of  Pegasus  being  somewhat  tilted  up ;  below  it  will  be  seen  Aquarius  just  about  to 
dip  below  the  horizon. 

A  little  to  the  North  of  the  zenith  will  be  found  the  VV  of  Cassopeia ;  this  constellation  is  supposed  to  have 
a  resemblance  to  a  seated  lady — the  wife  of  King  Cepheus.  [In  November  1572  there  appeared  suddenly  an 
exceedingly  bright  star  near  K  of  Cassiopeia — its  exact  position  will  be  seen  in  Fig  8.  While  Tycho  Brahe,  the 
celebrated  Danish  astronomer,  was  returning  from  his  observatory  to  his  house, 
he  saw  a  number  of  people  gazing  at  a  very  bright  star,  which  he  was  certain 
had  not  been  visible  an  hour  before.  It  surpassed  all  the  stars  in  brilliancy, 
and  even  the  planet  Jupiter  when  brightest;  it  remained  visible  for  16  months, 
and  then  gradually  disappeared.  As  other  stars  were  seen  near  the  same  place 
in  the  years  945  and  1264,  it  is  supposed  that  these  were  appearances  of  the 
same  star,  so  we  may  not  unreasonably  expect  the  return  at  any  time  of  this 
remarkable  visitant.  For,  from  945  to  1264  there  are  319  years,  and  from 
1264  to  1572  there  are  308  years,  so  that  if  we  take  the  average  interval,  Fig8.— Cassiopeia,  with  the  new  star. 
313  years,  and  add  this  to  1572  it  gives  us  the  year  1885,  as  about  the  time  when  another  visitation  might  be 
expected.  It  has  not  yet,  however,  appeared,  (1896) ;  but  it  may  still  come.] 

Underneath  Cassiopeia  will  be  seen  the  cross  of  Cygnus,  standing  upright;  while  to  the  right  of  it  and  nearer 
the  horizon  is  Lyra  with  its  bright  star,  Vega.  Cepheus  is  above  the  head  of  Draco;  below  the  dragon's  head  is 
Hercules,  which  is  now  very  low  down  on  the  North- Western  horizon. 

*  The  accurate  distance  of  Polaris  from  the  Celestial  Pole,  when  at  its  nearest  to  it,  is  26  minutes,  30  seconds,  which  will  take 
place  in  the  year  2095,  A'D-  l  p 

18 


DESCRIPTION   OF   MAP   III. 


[HE  dragon,  Draco,  is  now  due  North ;  Bootes  and  Hercules  being  directly  underneath,  and 
partly  below  the  horizon.  The  Great  Bear  has  moved  to  the  North-East,  the  tail  hanging 
down.  The  Little  Bear  is  still  below  the  Pole  Star,  and  above  Draco.  Between  the  North- 
East  and  the  East  Leo  will  be  seen  nearly  above  the  horizon,  with  its  brilliant  star  Regulus, 
the  lion's  heart.  Observe  the  sickle  group  in  this  constellation,  Regulus  being  at  the  handle. 
In  the  East,  and  exactly  between  the  horizon  and  the  zenith,  will  be  seen  the  two  conspicuous 
stars  belonging  to  Gemini ;  and  above  these,  and  nearly  overhead,  is  Auriga  with  its  bright 
Capella.  Procyon,  in  Canis  Minor,  is  below  the  Twins,  between  the  East  and  the  South-East; 
while  between  Procyon  and  Leo  is  the  small  constellation  of  Cancer,  the  crab.  Canis  Major,  the  great  dog,  is 
rising  in  the  South-East,  the  principal  star  Sinus  will  be  seen  sparkling  with  great  brilliancy.  Orion  is  nearly 
standing  upright  between  the  South  and  the  South-East ;  below  it  is  the  small  constellation  of  Lepus,  the  hare, 
To  the  right  and  above  Orion  is  Taurus,  the  bull,  the  second  constellation  of  the  Zodiac ;  Aldebaran  represents 
the  eye  of  the  bull,  the  stars  (3  and  f  the  two  horns.  The  beautiful  cluster  of  stars  called  the  Pleiades  forms  part 
of  this  constellation ;  six  stars  are  distinctly  seen,  though  more  are  visible  with  good  eyesight — Fig.  9  is  a  view 
of  this  cluster  as  seen  with  a  small  telescope.  This  celebrated  group  of  stars  is  mentioned  by  Job,  and  there  is 
another  instance  of  its  being  noticed  3,400  years  ago.  Near  Aldebaran  another 
group  will  be  noticed,  but  not  so  conspicuous  as  the  Pleiades,  this  is  called  the 
Hyades. 

Eridanus  is  now  South,  and  nearly  South- West  is  Cetus,  the  whale,  the  most 
extensive  group  in  the  heavens.  The  star  in  the  neck  of  the  whale  is  called  Mira, 
the  epithet  'wonderful,'  being  given  to  it  on  account  of  its  great  variation  in 
brilliancy.  It  shines  as  a  second  magnitude  star,  and  decreases  in  lustre  till  it 
becomes  invisible  to  the  naked  eye  in  a  period  of  about  300  days.  Above  Cetus 
is  Aries  the  first  constellation  of  the  Zodiac.  Manilius  thus  describes  it : — 


"  First  Aries,  glorious  in  his  golden  wool, 
Looks  back  and  wonders  at  the  mighty  bull. " 


Fig.  9.— The  Pleiades. 


[More  than  2,000  years  ago  the  middle  of  this  constellation  was  on  one  of  the  Equinoctial  Points  (i.e.,  the 
points  where  the  Equinoctial  cuts  the  Ecliptic),  from  which  it  has  been  called  'the  first  point  of  Aries ;'  but  owing 
to  the  precession  of  the  Equinoxes,  or  the  motion  of  the  axis  of  the  earth  round  a  perpendicular  to  the  Ecliptic,  the 
Equinoctial  Points  have  moved  to  the  right  on  the  Ecliptic  about  30  degrees,  which  gives  the  whole  heavens  an 
apparent  motion  round  the  pole  of  the  Ecliptic  in  about  25,900  years.*  Thus  Aries  2,000  years  ago  occupied  the 
same  position  with  regard  to  the  Equinoctial  as  Pisces  now  does,  but  since  then  it  has  apparently  moved  to 
the  left  a  whole  sign ;  so  that  the  constellation  of  Aries  is  now  in  the  sign  of  Taurus,  Taurus  in  Gemini,  &c. 
Mesertim,  the  y  of  Aries  is  slightly  interesting  from  the  fact  that  it  was  one  of  the  first  double  stars  that  was 
discovered.  Dr.  Hook  while  observing  a  comet  in  1664  accidently  came  across  this  star  with  his  telescope  and 
found  that  it  consisted  of  two  stars  close  together.  There  are  now  several  thousands  of  double  stars,  not  only 
detected,  but  their  apparent  distances  accurately  measured.] 

Above  Aries  is  Triangulum,  and  nearly  overhead  is  Perseus.  In  the  West  will  be  seen  Pegasus  just  about: 
to  sink  below  the  horizon,  the  diagonal  of  the  square  formed  by  a  Andromedse,  and  a  Pegasi  being  vertical. 
Between  Pegasus  and  Cetus,  Pisces  will  be  seen ;  while  above  the  square  of  Pegasus  is  Andromeda,  the  chained 
lady.  Cassiopeia  has  now  moved  away  from  overhead  towards  the  North-West ;  and  underneath  Cassiopeia  are 
the  constellations  of  Cygnus  and  Lyra,  both  being  just  above  the  horizon,  while  Cepheus  is  midway  between  Vega 
and  the  Zenith. 

*  The  Ecliptic  is  divided  into  12  equal  parts  which  are  called  the  'signs  of  the  Zodiac;'  they  were  named  more  than  2,000 
years  ago,  after  the  constellations  that  occupied  the  same  part  of  the  Ecliptic  as  the  signs ;  but  since  then,  the  signs  have  moved  away 
from  the  constellations.  The  signs  are  named  as  follows  : — 


Aries. 
Taurus. 


II    Gemini. 
225  Cancer. 


Leo. 

Virgo. 


—  Libra. 
^L  Scorpio. 


Sagittarius. 
Capricornus. 


sss  Aquarius. 
X   Pisces 


MAP    III. 


FEE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  DECEMBER  AND  JANUARY. 


HJ_UON 


SOUTH 


The  above  Map  is  s.  representation  of  the  Starry  Heavens  in  the  Evening  at  the  following  Dates  and 

Hours  : — 


DECEMBER  16 

at 

...      I0.2O 

JANUARY 

5     at 

...    9-0 

JANUARY 

25  at 

...    7-40 

21 

»        ••• 

...      IO.O 

10   „ 

...    8.40 

30  „ 

...    7.20 

26 

„ 

...      9.40 

15    „ 

...      8.20 

FEBRUARY 

5    » 

...    7.0 

31 

,,        ... 

...      9-20 

20     „ 

...    8.0 

10  „ 

...    6.40 

The  circular  boundary  of  this  Map  represents  the  Horizon,  with  the  principal  points  of  the  compass 
indicated.  The  Cross  in  the  centre  is  the  zenith  or  that  part  of  the  sky  which  is  directly  overhead. 

A  list  of  Arabic  names  of  the  Principal  Stars  corresponding  to  the  Greek  letters  in  each  Constellation  is 
given  on  page  16.  . 


MAP    IV. 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  JANUARY  AND  FEBRUARY 


<0 


SOUTH 


The  above  Map  is  a  representation  of  the  Starry  Heavens  in  the  Evening  at  the  following  Dates  and 

Hours  : — 


JANUARY 


15  at 

20  „ 

25  „ 

30  „ 


IO.20 
1O.O 
9.40 
9-20 


FEBRUARY  5  at 
10  „ 
15  „ 

20     „ 


9.0 
8.40 

8.20 

8.0 


FEBRUARY  25  at 
MARCH         2    „ 

7    ,, 

12   „ 


7.40 
7.20 
7.0 
6.40 


The  circular  boundary  of  this  Map  represents  the  Horizon,  with  the  principal  points  of  the  compass 
indicated.  The  Cross  in  the  centre  is  the  zenith  or  that  part  of  the  sky  which  is  directly  overhead. 

A  list  of  Arabic  names  of  the  Principal  Stars  corresponding  to  the  Greek  letters  in  each  Constellation  is 
given  on  page  16. 


DESCRIPTION   OF   MAP   IV. 

N  the  North,  the  bright  star  Vega  will  be  seen  tipping  the  horizon.  The  Dragon's  head  is  now 
exactly  North,  and  above  Hercules.  Ursa  Minor  is  still  below  Polaris,  but  it  is  now  beginning 
to  assume  a  horizontal  position.  The  Great  Bear  is  in  the  North-East,  between  the  point 
overhead  and  the  horizon,  the  tail  hangs  down  pointing  to  Bootes,  which  is  rising.  To  the 
right  of  the  Great  Bear's  Tail  is  Canis  Venatici,  the  greyhounds ;  the  only  bright  star  in  this 
constellation  is  called  Cor  Caroli.  The  whole  of  Leo  has  now  risen  above  the  horizon,  and 
Virgo  is  just  beginning  to  make  its  appearance;  while  to  the  right  of  Leo  and  nearly  South- 
East  will  be  seen  the  winding  constellation  of  Hydra,  with  its  leading  brilliant  Alphard,  the 
'solitary  one.'  Above  Alphard  is  Cancer,  and  to  the  right  of  Cancer  is  Procyon,  in  the  little  dog.  Above 
Procyon  is  Gemini,  which  is  the  third  constellation  of  the  Zodiac — it  was  originally  represented  as  a  pair  of  kids, 
but  the  Greeks  altered  them  into  two  children,  named  Castor  and  Pollux.  Below  the  feet  of  the  Twins,  and 
near  the  horizon,  will  be  seen  the  blazing  Dog-star,  Sirius,  which  is  the  brightest  of  all  the  stars.  [Sirius  must  be 
a  sun  of  an  immense  size,  as  it  has  been  found  to  be  situated  at  a  distance  at  least  20  times  further  away  than  the 
nearest  star,  and  yet  it  shines  so  brilliantly — in  fact,  it  is  thought  that  to  equal  it  in  size  it  would  require  no  less 
than  2000  suns  the  same  as  ours.  This  star  has  been  found  to  be  travelling  through  space  away  from  us,  at  the 
enormous  velocity  of  20  miles  per  second.  From  very  minute  irregularities  in  the  annual  motion  of  Sirius  it  was 
long  thought  that  there  would  probably  be  a  dark  body  revolving  round  it,  and  this  remarkable  idea  has  been 
found  to  be  correct,  for  a  small  companion  has  been  discovered  by  means  of  one  of  the  powerful  American 
telescopes,  it  being  only  seen  with  great  difficulty,  as  it  probably  shines  by  reflected  light.] 

To  the  left  of  Sirius,  part  of  the  Ship,  Argo,  will  be  seen;  and  to  the  right  of  Sirius  is  Lepus.  Above  Lepus  is 
Orion,  which  is  now  a  little  past  the  South  and  at  his  greatest  elevation — the  best  position  to  be  well  observed. 
This  is  the  most  beautiful  and  brilliant  of  all  the  constellations,  and  in  ancient  times  there  was  none  more  noted 
than  Orion,  the  'mighty  giant'  Manilius,  the  astronomical  poet  of  the  ancients,  thus  writes  about  Orion: — 

"  Orion's  beams  !  Orion's  beams  ! 

His  star-gemmed  belt,  and  shining  blade  ; 
His  isles  of  light,  his  silvery  streams, 
And  gloomy  gulfs  of  mystic  shade. 

The  three  stars  in  a  line,  near  the  centre  of  the  group,  are  called  the  '  Belt,'  and  by  Job  the  '  Bands  of  Orion  j ' 
it  is  known,  however,  by  many  other  names,  such  as  the  'Three  Kings,'  the  '  Ell-and-Yard,'  'Jacob's  Staff,'  &c. 
The  star  a  in  Orion  is  called  JBetelgeux,  it  is  a  very  irregular  variable  star,  and  forms  with  Procyon  and  Sirius  a 
large  equilateral  triangle.  [Directly  underneath  the  middle  star  in  the  belt,  there  will  be  seen  a  star  surrounded 
with  a  haze,  this  is  the  great  Nebula  of  Orion,  one  of  the  most  wonderful  objects  in  the  heavens.  A  very  small 
telescope  will  suffice  to  show  it  as  a  luminous  cloud  with  small  stars  shining  through,  it;  but  it  requires  one  of  the 
huge  telescopes  that  are  now  employed  by  astronomers  to  see  it  to  advantage.  When  seen  with  one  of  these 
instruments,  it  is  truly  a  magnificent  and  wonderful  sight;  the  whole  field  of  view  is  filled  with  an  irregular  mass 
of  green  shining  mist,  which  is  apparently  broken  up  into  flocculent  masses,  delicate  clouds  of  light,  sprays  and 
wisps,  and  standing  out  from  the  cloudy  background,  like  a  sprinkling  of  diamond  dust,  are  seen  faint  glittering 
stars.  The  real  nature  of  this  mysterious  object  long  remained  unknown,  for  telescopes  without  number  have 
been  turned  to  it  in  the  hope  of  resolving  its  misty  light  into  stars,  but  each  have  failed  in  turn.  Even  the  40- 
feet  reflector  of  Sir  W.  Herschel,  which  was  four  feet  in  diameter,  could  not  reveal  the  individual  stars  that  were 
supposed  to  produce  this  luminous  haze.  Nay,  even  the  gigantic  telescope  of  Lord  Rosse,  with  its  six-feet  mirror, 
could  not  resolve  it  completely,  but  nevertheless,  it  was  thought  that  with  a  slightly  more  powerful  instrument,  it 
would  be  seen  as  a  galaxy  of  stars.  Astronomers,  therefore,  were  rather  taken  by  surprise  when  Mr.  Huggins 
announced  that,  by  means  of  the  spectroscope,  it  was  demonstrated  that  this  object  was  nothing  more  than  a 
great  mass  of  incandesent  gas,  such  as  hydrogen,  nitrogen,  &c.  Since  this  wonderful  discovery  many  astronomers 
now  believe  that  it  consists  of  the  material  from  which  suns  and  systems  of  worlds  will,  at  some  future  time,  be 
made.] 

To  the  right  of  Orion  is  Eridanus,  and  a  little  further  in  the  same  direction  is  Cetus,  now  dipping  below  the 
horizon.  Taurus  is  above  Orion;  while  above  Taurus  and  nearly  overhead  is  the  bright  Capella  in  Auriga. 
Aries  has  now  reached  the  West ;  a  little  to  the  right  of  Aries  is  Andromeda,  the  stars  o,  (3,  and  y  being 
vertical,  while  below  Andromeda,  and  partly  underneath  the  horizon  is  Pegasus.  Perseus  has  now  moved  from 
overhead  towards  the  West;  while  Cassiopeia  and  Cepheus  are  in  .the  North-West,  about  midway  between  the 
zenith  and  the  horizon — Cepheus  being  directly  above  the  cross  of  Cygnus,  which  has  partly  set 


20 


DESCRIPTION   OF   MAP  V. 

FGNUS  is  now  exactly  North,  only  part  of  the  cross  being  visible ,  to  the  right  of  it  will  be 
seen  the  sparkling  Vega,  just  above  the  horizon,  while  still  further  in  the  same  direction  is 
Hercules,  with    Draco   and   the  Little   Bear   directly  above  —  the   latter   being   now  almost 
horizontal.     The  stars  ft  and  y  in  this  constellation  are  sometimes  called  the  '  Guardians  of 
the  Pole.'     Ursa  Minor  is  one  of  the  most  important  constellations  in  the  heavens,  because 
its    leading    star,  Polaris,   is    situated  so  near    the   North    Pole,  there   is  no  other  star  of 
more  value  to  the  sailor,  as  from  it  he  can  not  only  find  the  cardinal  points,  but,  by  measuring 
its  apparent  height  above  the  horizon  he  can  find  his  distance  from  the  Equator,  or  his  lati- 
tude, as  it  is  called.     In  ancient  times  when  there  was  no  compass  to  guide  the  seaman,  it  was  of  still  greater 
use,  in  fact  it  was  invaluable,  as  without  it  no  vessel  could  have  safely  sailed  out  from  the  sight  of  land.    Thus 
Dryden  describes  the  infancy  of  navigation  : — 

"  Rude  as  their  ships  were  navigated  then, 
No  useful  compass  or  meridian  known, 
Coasting,  they  kept  the  land  within  their  ken, 
And  knew  no  North  but  when  the  Pole-star  shone. " 

The  Great  Bear  is  rapidly  approaching  the  zenith ;  Corona  Borealis,  the  northern  crown,  and  Bootes,  the 
herdsman,  being  directly  underneath,  between  the  North-East  and  the  Eastern  horizon.  Coma  Berenices  is  to 
the  right  ofArcturus  and  nearly  East — this  constellation  contains  many  clusters  of  small  stars  and  nebulae;  it 
was  formerly  part  of  Leo.  The  whole  of  Virgo  has  not  yet  risen  above  the  horizon,  that  part  of  it  which  is 
visible  will  be  seen  due  East.  The  tail  of  Leo  is  directly  above  Virgo,  the  whole  of  this  constellation  being  now 
nearly  South-East,  with  its  leading  brilliant  Regulus.  The  Sickle  group,  formed  by  the  stars  a,  77,  y,  £  p,  and  e,  is 
now  in  an  upright  position. 

Crater,  the  cup,  is  directly  underneath  Leo,  and  very  low  down  on  the  horizon,  the  star  Alkes  (a)  being  exactly 
below  Regulus  and  above  ft.  Hydra  is  to  the  right  of  the  cup,  it  will  be  seen  winding  upwards  through 
Alphard  and  nearly  to  the  Little  Dog.  Above  the  head  of  Hydra  is  Cancer,  the  crab,  the  fourth  Zodiacal 
constellation.  It  contains  no  conspicuous  stars,  but  it  has  a  noted  star-cluster  which  is  called  the  Bee-hive — the 
Prsesepe  of  the  ancients.  This  small  group  is  very  easily  found,  for  a  line  from  Pollux — the  lower  of  the  two 
brilliant  stars  in  the  Twins — to  Regulus  will,  about  midway  between  these  stars,  pass  very  near  to  it.  When  this 
cluster  of  stars,  is  seen  with  a  telescope,  it  is  a  magnificent  sight,  each  sparkling  like  so  many  diamond  points 
against  the  sky.  Fig.  lois  a  view  of  this  interesting  cluster  as  seen  with  a  telescope. 

Gemini  will  be  seen  a  little  to  the  West  of  South ;  its  two  principal  stars,  Castor  and 
Pollux,  now  being  on  the  meridian  (i.e.,  the  line  that  runs  exactly  from  North  to  South). 
Underneath  Pollux  is  the  bright  star  Procyon,  and  to  the  right  of  it  and  above  will  be  seen 
Gomeisa  the  ft  of  Canis  Minor.  [Procyon,  like  Sirius,  is  thought  to  have  one  of  those  dark 
bodies  revolving  round  it,  of  which  there  are  probably  many  thousands  in  the  universe,  and, 
of  course,  being  invisible,  they  can  only  be  detected  by  their  attractive  influence  on 
other  stars.  The  regular  variations  in  the  brightness  of  the  star  Algol  (in  Perseus)  are  Fig.io.— ThePrcesepe, 
thought  to  be  caused  by  one  of  these  dark  bodies  revolving  round  it,  as  when  between  us  and  or  Bee'hlve- 

that  star  it  will  intercept  some  of  the  light,  so  the  star  will  shine  with  diminished  lustre.  These  invisible 
bodies  are  probably  nothing  else  than  extinct  suns,  which  at  one  time  would  be  as  brilliant  and  as  active  as  our 
own,  but  as  their  energy  has  long  ceased,  so  they  are  now  cold  and  dead,  and  such  it  is  thought  will  be  the 
case  with  our  own  sun  in  some  17  millions  of  years  hence.] 

Between  the  South  and  the  South-West  will  be  seen  Canis  Major,  with  its  brilliant  star  Sirius — the  star 
to  the  right  of  it  is  called  Mirzam.  To  the  right  of  the  Dog-star  is  Lepus,  and  above  Lepus  is  the  conspicuous 
Orion,  now  nearing  the  South-West.  Part  of  Eridanus  has  disappeared,  and  nearly  the  whole  of  Cetus — only  the 
head  of  the  whale  being  now  visible.  Above  Eridanus  is  the  ruddy  Aldebaran,  with  the  comet-like  Pleiades  to  the 
right  of  it ;  while  above  Aldebaran  is  the  brilliant  Capella,  the  leading  star  in  Auriga,  the  waggoner ;  the  bright  star 
to  the  left  of  Capella  is  called  Menkalinan.  Between  Auriga  and  the  North-Western  horizon  are  the  constellations 
of  Perseus  and  Andromeda — the  bright  stars  a,  ft,  and  y  in  the  latter  constellation  being  now  nearly  vertical. 
The  whole  of  Pegasus  has  sunk  below  the  horizon,  with  the  exception  of  one  star,  Scheat.  To  the  left  of 
Andromeda  will  be  seen  Triangulum  and  Aries.  The  VV  of  Cassiopeia  has  now  assumed  this  position — ^  ;  it 
will  be  seen  to  the  right  of  Perseus,  and  in  the  North-West,  while  Cepheus  is  to  the  right  of  Cassopeia,  and  below 
the  Pole  Star.  2 1 


DESCRIPTION   OF   MAP   VI. 

JEPHEUS  will  be  seen  due  North,  Errai  (y)  being  a  little  below  the  Pole  Star.  Ursa  Minor 
now  twists  a  little  upwards  towards  the  right ;  while  directly  underneath  it,  and  partly  below 
the  horizon,  is  Cygnus.  Lyra  is  to  the  right  of  Cygnus,  and  in  the  North-East  rising.  Draco 
is  directly  above  Vega,  the  tail  circling  upwards  towards  the  zenith.  Between  Vega  and  the 
East  is  Hercules,  and  still  further  to  the  right  is  part  of  Serpens ;  while  nearly  East  and  above 
Serpens  is  Corona  Borealis,  the  northern  crown.  [It  will  be  noticed  that  this  constellation  has 
a  striking  resemblance  to  a  crown ;  it  is  thought  that  originally  it  belonged  to  Bootes,  though 
undoubtedly  an  old  constellation  itself;  the  brightest  star  in  it  is  called  Alphecca,  which  will  be 
seen  sparkling  like  a  gem  in  this  'celestial  coronet.'  To  the  left  of  Alphecca,  and  in  a  position  where  no  star  was 
visible  to  the  naked  eye,  there  appeared  very  suddenly  in  the  year  1866  a  new  star  shining  with  great  brilliancy, 
and  which  in  due  time  rapidly  disappeared  again ;  the  true  position  of  this  star  will  be  seen  in  Fig.  n.  It  was 
believed  among  astronomers  that  there  had  taken  place  on  this  new  star  (or  sun)  some  tremendous  disturb- 
ance, caused,  probably,  by  the  downfall  of  some  mighty  mass  of  matter,  which  had  the  effect  of  making  it  shine 
out  with  about  nine  hundred  times  its  former  brilliancy  !  But  may  we  not  anxiously  enquire  what  would  likely  be 
the  result  if  a  conflagration  like  that  which  undoubtedly  took  place  on  this  remote  sun,  were  at  any  time  to 
happen  to  our  sun  ?  Would  any  of  the  life  on  earth  ever  hope  to  survive  such  an  awful  change  in  heat  and 
light  as  this  ?  Not  only  would  all  the  various  forms  of  life  on  earth  be  utterly  destroyed,  but  on  all  the  other 
members  of  our  solar  system  there  would  be  such  a  change  effected,  that  if  any  life  existed,  even  on  the 
remote  Neptune  *  (which  is  not  thought  to  be  the  case  at  present],  it  would  at  once  be  com- 
pletely extinguished.  Nay,  even  if  the  heat  and  light  of  our  sun  were  to  increase,  not  nine 
hundred,  but  only  nine  times  its  present  amount,  all  the  higher  orders  of  life  on  the  earth 
would  be  completely  destroyed ;  and  if  any  of  the  various  forms  of  life  were  to  survive,  these 
would  only  be  some  of  the  lower  orders  existing  in  caves,  with  a  few  of  the  lowest  forms 
of  vegetation.  And  thus  it  is  thought  (with  good  reason,  too),  that  probably  the  life  that 
existed  on  the  whole  system  of  worlds  that  circled  round  this  distant  star  must  have  been 
annihilated,  and  as  the  heat  and  light  of  this  star  increased  so  very  suddenly,  there  could  em  Crown,  showing 
have  been  given  but  short  warning  to  the  inhabitants  of  these  worlds].  the  New  Star. 

Above  the  Northern  Crown  is  the  noted  constellation  of  Bootes,  the  herdsman,  with  its  leading  brilliant 
Arcturus,  which  is  considered  to  be  one  of  the  brightest  stars  in  the  heavens. 

The  grey-hounds,  Canes  Venatici,  will  be  seen  above  Arcturus ;  while  directly  overhead  is  Ursa  Major.  In 
the  South-East  is  the  brilliant  Spica,  now  fairly  above  the  horizon ;  the  whole  of  Virgo  will  now  be  seen,  and  also 
Corvus,  which  is  to  the  right  of  Spica :  above  Corvus  and  a  litttle  to  the  right  is  Crater,  and  directly  above 
this  group  is  Leo,  the  lion,  the  fifth  constellation  of  the  Zodiac,  its  brightest  star  Jtegulus,  the  lion's  heart,  being  just 
above  the  Ecliptic,  while  between  it  and  Arcturus  will  be  seen  Denebola  (/?),  the  lion's  tail.  Underneath  Regulus 
and  towards  the  right  is  the  solitary  star  Alphard,  in  Hydra,  the  sea  serpent. 

The  greater  part  of  Canis  Major  has  set,  but  its  brightest  star  Sirius  is  still  seen,  it  being  now  South- West, 
just  above  the  horizon.  Above  Sirius  is  the  Little  Dog  with  Procyon  ;  while  to  the  right  of  Procyon  will  be  seen 
the  feet  of  Gemini,  the  twins,  which  constellation  is  now  in  an  upright  position.  Below  the  Twins  will  at  once  be 
seen  the  noble  Orion,  now  somewhat  tilted  over,  and  just  about  to  sink  below  the  Western  horizon ;  the  three 
stars  in  the  belt  are  lying  in  a  horizontal  position ;  while  below  them  is  the  bright  Rigel,  and  above,  the  ruddy 
Betelgeux.  To  the  right  of  the  latter  will  be  noticed  another  red  star,  which  is  Aldebaran,  in  Taurus,  the  bull ;  in 
fact  from  this  star  appearing  so  very  red,  and  lying  near  the  path  of  the  planets,  it  has  often  been  mistaken  by 
inexperienced  observers  for  the  ruddy  planet  Mars.  To  the  right  of  Aldebaran,  and  at  nearly  the  same  elevation, 
will  be  seen  the  Pleiades ;  while  above  this  cluster  is  Auriga  with  its  conspicuous  Capella,  to  the  right  of  which  is 
Perseus ;  while  below  this  latter  and  to  the  right  is  Andromeda,  part  of  this  constellation  having  now  disappeared ; 
and  between  the  North-West  and  the  North,  and  a  little  above  the  horizon,  will  be  seen  the  W  of  Cassiopeia. 

*  Neptune  is  the  outermost  known  planet  in  the  solar  system,  and  it  is  situated  over  30  times  further  away  from  the  sun  than  th< 
earth,  so  that  the  heat  and  light  it  receives  from  the  sun  will  be  nearly  1,000  times  less  than  what  we  receive. 

22  ra 


W 


DESCRIPTION   OF   MAP  VII. 

is  now  nearly  North  and  between  Polaris  and  the  horizon,  while  Cepheus  has 
already  moved  to  the  right  of  the  North,  7  being  exactly  below  the  Pole  Star.  The  Little 
Bear  is  above  Cepheus,  the  guardians  of  the  Pole,  ft  and  7,  being  above  Polaris  and  to  the 
right.  Cygnus  is  exactly  North-East,  the  great  cross  lies  horizontal.  Directly  above  Cygnus  is 
Draco ;  while  above  the  foot  of  the  Cross  of  Cygnus  will  be  seen  the  bright  sparkling  Vega,  to 
the  right  of  which  is  the  old  constellation  of  Hercules,  which  is  supposed  to  represent  a  man 
kneeling.  Its  leading  star  a,  which  is  not  a  very  conspicuous  one,  will  be  seen  due  East,  it  is 
called  Rasalgeti,  from  the  Arabian  Ras-al-gathi,  the  kneeler's  head.  A  little  below  this  star  is 
the  a  of  Ophiuchus,  which  is  named  Rasalhague,  from  an  Arabian  word  meaning  the  serpent-bearer's  head.  This 
constellation  of  Ophiuchus,  the  serpent-bearer,  is  one  of  the  old  asterisms,  only  part  of  it  is  at  present  visible. 
Above  the  latter  is  Serpens,  the  serpent,  and  above  the  serpent's  head,  formed  by  the  stars  /3  and  7,  is  Corona 
Borealis ;  while  to  the  right  of  the  Northern  Crown  will  be  seen  the  brilliant  Arcturus,  the  leading  star  in  Bootes. 
Directly  underneath  Arcturus,  and  above  the  South-Eastern  horizon  is  Libra,  the  balance ;  while  underneath  it 
part  of  Scorpio  is  beginning  to  make  its  appearance.  To  the  right  of  Libra  and  nearly  South  is  Virgo,  the  sixth 
constellation  of  the  Zodiac  ;  it  contains  a  very  conspicuous  star  called  Sptca,  which  will  be  seen  between  the  South 
and  the  South-East. 

Corvus,  the  crow,  and  Crater,  the  cup,  are  now  South,  and  near  the  horizon ;  these  are  both  old  constella- 
tions :  8  of  the  former  is  called  Algorib,  and  a  of  the  latter  Alkes.  Above  Spica,  is  Coma  Berenices,  and  Canes 
Venatici ;  Cor  Caroli  in  the  latter  being  exactly  between  Arcturus  and  the  zenith.  The  Great  Bear  is  still  over- 
head, and,  in  passing,  we  may  notice  how  useful  this  constellation  is  for  pointing  out  many  of  the  leading  stars 
which  are  now  visible.  The  stars  a  and  (3  point  out  Polaris ;  8  and  7  point  out  Regulus,  in  the  lion ;  8  and  a 
point  out  Capella,  in  Auriga ;  8  and  (3  point  out  Castor  and  Pollux ;  a  line  from  Regulus  to  9  in  the  tail  of 
the  Bear,  and  continued  about  the  same  distance  on  the  other  side,  points  out  Vega ;  and  a  line  through  the 
stars  £  and  rj  passes  very  near  Arcturus. 

Leo  has  now  passed  the  South,  Deneb  in  the  tail  being  exactly  on  the  meridian ;  above  Regulus  will  be  seen 
the  star  A,  which  is  mentioned  because  close  to  this  star  there  is  situated  the  radiant  point  of  the  famous  i3th  of 
November  meteors,  or  the  point  in  the  heavens  from  which  these  meteors  appear  to  burst,  and  on  which  account 
these  shooting  stars  are  familiarly  known  as  the  Leonids. 

Alphard  in  Hydra,  is  now  South-West ;  while  to  the  right  of  it  the  bright  star  Procyon,  in  the  little  dog, 
will  be  seen.  Cancer  is  above  the  head  of  Hydra,  while  to  the  right  of  it  is  Gemini,  now  rapidly  nearing  the 
horizon.  Orion  has  all  but  disappeared,  Betelgeux  and  Bellatrix  alone  are  now  visible.  To  the  right  of  Orion 
is  Taurus,  the  ruddy  Aldebaran  in  the  bull's  eye  is  just  about  to  sink  below  the  horizon ;  and  nearly  North- West 
is  the  Pleiades  which  will  also  soon  disappear.  This  beautiful  cluster  of  stars,  which  are  so  conspicuous  when 
high  up  in  the  heavens,  will  now  scarcely  be  noticed,  from  being  so  low  down  on  the  horizon.  They  are  about 
to  leave  us  for  a  season,  and  after  having  disappeared,  they  will  not  again  be  seen  in  the  evening  till  the  beginning 
of  September,  when  they  will  reappear  in  the  North-East  about  10  p.m.  They  will,  however,  be  seen  in  the  early 
morning  rising  before  the  sun  in  about  two  months ;  so  that  they  will  be  invisible  for  a  short  time,  owing  to  the 
sun  being  in  that  part  of  the  heavens,  and  hiding  them  by  the  overpowering  brilliancy  of  his  rays.  Thus,  Hesiod 
(who  lived  nearly  3,000  years  ago)  says,  referring  to  the  invisibility  of  the  Pleiades  : — 

"  There  is  a  time  when  forty  days  they  lie, 
And  forty  nights,  concealed  from  human  eye, 
But  in  the  course  of  the  revolving  year, 
When  the  swain  sharps  the  scythe,  again  appear. " 

Above  this  interesting  group  is  Capella  and  Menkalinan,  both  belonging  to  Auriga ;  while  to  the  right  of  the 
latter  is  Perseus,  and  still  further  in  the  same  direction  and  nearly  North,  is  that  part  of  Andromeda  which  is  at 
present  visible.  23 


MAP  V. 

THE   CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  FEBRUARY  AND  MARCH 


rp 


HJ.HON 


SOUTH 

The  above  Map  is  a  representation  of  the  Starry  Heavens  in  the  Evening  at  the  following  Dates 

Hours  : — 


FEBRUARY  15  at 
20   „ 

25    „ 
MARCH        2     „ 


10.20 
10.0 

9.40 
9.20 


MARCH 


at 


17 
22 


9.0 

8.40 

8.20 

8.0 


MARCH 
APRIL 


7.40 
7.20 
7.0 
6.40 


The  circular  boundary  of  this  Map  represents  the  Horizon,  with  the  principal  points  of  the  compass 
indicated.  The  Cross  in  the  centre  is  the  zenith  or  that  part  of  the  sky  which  is  directly  overhead. 

A  list  of  Arabic  names  of  the  Principal  Stars  corresponding  to  the  Greek  letters  in  each  Constellatioc 
is  given  on  page  16. 


MAP   VI. 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  MARCH  AND  APRIL. 


SOUTH 

The  above  Map  is  a  representation  of  the  Starry  Heavens  in  the  Evening  at  the  following   Dates  and 

Hours  : — 

APRIL          16  at       8.20 

8.0 

7-40 

7-20 


MARCH        7  at 

12  „ 

17  „ 

22  „ 


n.o 

10.40 

IO.20 
1O.O 


MARCH 
APRIL 


27   at 


6 
II 


9.40 
9.20 
9.0 
8.40 


16  at 
21  ., 
26  . 


MAY 


The  circular  boundary  of  this  Map  represents  the  Horizon,  with  the  principal  points  of  the  compass 
indicated.  The  Cross  in  the  centre  is  the  zenith  or  that  part  of  the  sky  which  is  directly  overhead. 

A  list  of  Arabic  names  of  the  Principal  Stars  corresponding  to  the  Greek  letters  in  each  Constellation 
is  given  on  page  16. 


MAP    VII. 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  APEIL  AND  MAY. 


5OUTH 

The  above  Map  is  a  representation  of  the  Starry  Heavens  in  the  Evening  at  the  following  Dates  and 

Hours  : — 


APRIL 


6  at 

»   „ 
16  „ 


ii.o 

10.40 

10.20 


APRIL 
MAY 


21  at 

26   „ 

2 


IC.O 

9.40 

9.20 


MAY 


7    at 
12   „ 

17    „ 


8.40 
8.20 


The  circular  boundary  of  this  Map  represents  the  Horizon,  with  the  principal  points  of  the  compass 
indicated.  The  Cross  in  the  centre  is  the  zenith  or  that  part  of  the  sky  which  is  directly  overhead. 

A  list  of  Arabic  names  of  the  Principal  Stars  corresponding  to  the  Greek  letters  in  each  Constellation  ii 
given  on  page  16. 


MAP    VIII. 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  MAY  AND  JUNE, 


HJ.UON 


SOUTH 

The  above  Map  is  a  representation  of  the  Starry  Heavens  in  the  Evening  at  the  following  Dates  and 

Hours  : — 


MAY 


2  at 
7    „ 

12     „ 


11.20 

ir.o 

10.40 


MAY 


17  at 
22  „ 
27  „ 


10.20 
IO.O 

940 


JUNE 


i   at 
6   „ 


9.20 
9.0 

8.40 


'Hie  circular  boundary  of  this  Map  represents  the  Horizon,  with  the  principal  points  of  the  compass 
indicated.  The  Cross  in  the  centre  is  the  zenith  or  that  part  of  the  sky  which  is  directly  overhead. 

A  list  of  Arabic  names  of  the  Principal  Stars  corresponding  to  the  Greek  letters  in  each  Constellation  is 
given  on  page  16. 


DESCRIPTION   OF   MAP  VIII. 

is  still  in  the  North,  Andromeda  being  underneath  it;  Cepheus  is  above  and  to  the 
right  of  Cassiopeia ;  the  stars  a,  (3,  and  y  are  now  lying  horizontal ;  the  Little  Bear  is  above 
the  star  y  of  Cepheus ;  the  Guardians  of  the  Pole  being  above  Polaris  and  slightly  to  the 
right. 

In  the  North-East  the  whole  of  the  Swan  will  be  seen  fairly  above  the  horizon ;  the  huge 
cross  in  this  constellation  is  exactly  horizontal,  Arided  being  at  the  top  and  Alberto  at  the 
bottom.  Observe  the  marked  brilliancy  of  the  Milky  Way  in  this  part  of  its  course,  and  in 
contrast  to  it,  notice  the  dark  space  between  the  two  branches,  from  y  to  /3,  which  has  been  called  the  Northern 
'Coal  Sack.'  Above  Alberio,  in  Cygnus,  is  the  small  but  conspicuous  constellation  of  Lyra,  the  harp,  with  its 
bright  sparkling  Vega — this  star  is  supposed  to  be  a  sun  of  enormous  bulk,  and  situated  at  a  vast  distance  away 
from  us,  it  being  thought  that  the  light  from  it  requires  no  less  than  18  years  to  reach  our  earth. 

Nearly  East  and  low  down  on  the  horizon  is  Aquila,  the  eagle,  its  leading  brilliant  Altair  will  at  once  be 
noticed,  as  it  lies  between  two  smaller  stars.  To  the  left  of  Altair  will  be  seen  the  small  group  of  the  Dolphin, 
which  has  just  risen.  Above  Lyra  and  to  the  right  is  the  kneeling  Hercules,  while  underneath  it  is  the  upright 
Ophiuchus,  triumphant  over  the  serpent,  Serpens,  which  constellation  will  be  seen  passing  through  the  Serpent- 
bearer,  the  head  of  the  serpent  being  on  the  right  and  below  Corona  Borealis.  To  the  right  of  the  Northern 
Crown  we  see  Bootes,  with  its  brilliant  Arclurus.  [This  star  is  travelling  through  space  at  an  almost  inconceivable 
speed,  in  fact  its  apparent  motion  is  so  great  that  since  the  beginning  of  our  era,  it  has  moved  over  a  space  equal 
to  z\  times  the  apparent  diameter  of  the  moon.  Owing  to  this  star  having  such  a  great  motion  it  was  long 
supposed  that  it  was  one  of  the  nearest  stars  to  our  earth ;  but  now  it  has  been  found  that  it  is  situated  at  a 
distance  not  less  than  seven  times  that  of  the  nearest  known  star.  According  to  Mr.  Huggins  it  is  travelling 
towards  us  at  the  enormous  velocity  of  over  50  miles  per  second.  The  heating  effect,  too,  of  this  star  has  been 
measured,  it  being  found  by  Mr,  Stone  that  we  receive  as  much  heat  from  Arcturus  as  would  be  given  out 
by  a  3  inch  cube  of  boiling  water  placed  at  a  distance  of  400  yards.] 

Between  the  South  and  the  South-East  are  two  constellations  of  the  Zodiac,  Libra,  the  balance,  and  Scorpio, 
the  scorpion — in  the  latter  will  be  noticed  the  fiery  red  Antares  (a).  To  the  right  of  Libra  is  Virgo,  its  bright  star  Spica, 
being  now  past  the  South  ;  while  above  Virgo  is  Coma  Berenices.  Corvus  and  Crater  are  now  between  the  South 
and  the  South-West,  low  down  on  the  horizon ;  while  below  these  constellations,  and  twisting  to  the  West  will  be 
seen  Hydra,  just  above  the  horizon.  At  one  time  (more  than  4,000  years  ago)  this  constellation  of  the  Sea 
Serpent  coincided  with  the  equinoctial,  but,  owing  to  the  swaying  motion  of  the  earth's  axis,  the  equinoctial  has 
since  moved  away. 

Leo  is  between  the  West  and  the  South-West ;  above  the  tail  of  the  Lion  is  Cor  Caroli,  in  Canes  Venatici, 
while  nearly  overhead  and  towards  the  West  will  be  seen  the  Great  Bear,  Benetnasch  (r;),  in  the  tail,  being  close  to 
the  zenith.  To  the  right  of  Regulus,  in  the  Lion,  and  due  West  is  Cancer,  the  crab ;  while  to  the  right  of 
Cancer,  the  Twins  will  be  seen  setting. 

In  the  North-West  and  a  little  above  the  horizon  is  the  bright  Capella,  in  Auriga;  and  to  the  right  of  it, 
Perseus  will  be  seen,  its  interesting  star  Algol  now  being  just  above  the  horizon. 


24  2E 


DESCRIPTION   OF   MAP   IX. 


N  the  North  we  now  see  the  constellations  of  Auriga  and  Perseus  ;  while  above  Perseus  and  a 
little  to  the  right  is  the  conspicious  W  of  Cassiopeia  ;  directly  above  which  is  Cepheus  :  and 
underneath  Cassiopeia  and  just  above  the  horizon  is  Andromeda,  the  chained  lady  —  in  Grecian 
mythology  these  last  four  constellations  are  connected  with  each  other,  for  Cepheus  was  a  king 
of  ^Ethiopia  and  Cassiopeia  his  queen.     Andromeda  was  their  daughter,  who  king  Cepheus 
was  obliged,  in  order  to  preserve  his  kingdom,  to  chain  to  a  rock  to  be  devoured  by  a  sea- 
monster  (which  is  represented  by  the  constellation  of  Cetus)  ;  but  Perseus,  on  his  return  from 
the  conquest  of  the  Gorgons,  rescued  her,  and  turned  the  monster  into  a  rock  by  showing  it  the  head  of  Medusa. 
The  Square  of  Pegasus  is  now  beginning  to  make  its  appearance,  that  part  of  it  which  is  now  visible  will  be 
seen  in  the  North-East  and  to  the  right  of  Andromeda.     Cygnus  is  now  due  East,  and  midway  between  the 
horizon  and  the  zenith  ;   the  cross  is  still  horizontal  ;   above  Alberio  (/?)  is  the  brilliant  star  Vega,  in  Lyra  ; 
while  below  it  is  the  Dolphin,  to  the  right  of  which  is  Altair,  the  principal  star  in  the  Eagle,  Aquila.     The  star 
(y)  above  Altair  is  called  Trazed,  the  one  below  (/?)  Alshain,     Underneath  Aquila  we  see  Capricornus  beginning 
to  make  its  appearance,  the  stars  a  and  fi  alone  being  visible.* 

In  the  South-East,  part  of  Sagittarius,  the  archer,  has  come  into  view  ;  while  above  it  is  Ophiuchus  with 
Serpens,  and  above  Ophiuchus  is  Hercules,  reaching  nearly  overhead.  Below  the  Serpent-bearer  is  Scorpio  with 
the  fiery  Antares  ;  while  to  the  right  of  it  is  Libra,  and  still  further  in  the  same  direction  is  Virgo,  which  will  be 
easily  distinguished  by  means  of  its  brilliant  Spica,  now  seen  exactly  South-West  and  a  little  above  the  horizon. 
Corvus  and  Crater  are  below  Virgo  rapidly  setting  ;  while  directly  above  Spica  is  Arcturus  in  Bootes,  and  to  the 
right  of  this  star  is  Coma  Berenices. 

Leo  is  now  West  and  rapidly  approaching  the  horizon  ;  above  the  tail  of  the  Lion  is  Canes  Venatici. 
The  Great  Bear  has  now  fallen  away  from  overhead  towards  the  North-West,  the  tail  being  uppermost  :  exactly 
North-West  and  .just  about  to  disappear  are  the  twin  stars,  Castor  and  Pollux,  all  that  is  now  visible  of  Gemini. 

To  the  right  of  Ursa  Major  and  nearly  overhead  is  Draco  ;  while  underneath  it  and  twisting  upwards  above 
Polaris  will  be  seen  the  Little  Bear. 

*  Owing  to  the  strong  twilight  in  the  month  of  July,  and  as  the  map  represents  the  heavens  at  an  hour  which  will  not  be  dark 
enough  for  observing  the  less  conspicuous  stars,  so  there  may  be  inconvenience  in  finding  some  of  the  stars  near  the  horizon  ;  but  if 
Map  X.  be  used  instead  of  this  one,  and  still  using  the  dates  belonging  to  Map  IX.  —  only  two  hours  will  require  to  be  added  to  them 
—  then  the  sun  will  be  further  below  the  horizon,  and,  of  course,  the  stars  will  appear  more  brilliant.  ^ 


MAP  IX. 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  JUNE  AND  JULY 


SOUTH 

The  above  Map  is  a  representation  of  the  Starry  Heavens  in  the  Evening  at  the  following  Dates  and 

Hours : — 


JUNE 


i   at 

6  „ 


1 1. 20 

n.o 

10.40 


JUNE 


16  at 

21    „ 
26   „ 


IO.2O 

IO.O 

940 


JULY 


2    at 
7     ,, 

12     „ 


9.20 

9.0 
8.40 


The  circular  boundary  of  this  Map  represents  the  Horizon,  with  the  principal  points  of  the  compass 
indicated.  The  Cross  in  the  centre  is  the  zenith  or  that  part  of  the  sky  which  is  directly  overhead. 

A  list  of  Arabic  names  of  the  Principal  Stars  corresponding  to  the  Greek  letters  in  each  Constellation  is 
given  on  page  16.  3  E 


MAP    X. 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  JULY  AND   AUGUST 


H-LaON 


SOUTH. 

The  above  Map  is  a  representation  of  the  Starry  Heavens  in  the  Evening  at  the  following  Dates  and 

Hours  : — 


JULY 


7  at 
12  „ 
17  ,, 


JULY 


n.o 

10.40 

10.20    '    AUGUST 


22  at 

27   „ 

i 


IO.O 

9.40 

9.20 


AUGUST 


6  at 
ii  „ 
16  „ 


9.0 

8.40 

8.20 


The  circular  boundary  of  this  Map  represents  the  Horizon,  with  the  principal  points  of  the  compass 
indicated.  The  Cross  in  the  centre  is  the  zenith  or  that  part  of  the  sky  which  is  directly  overhead. 

A  list  of  Arabic  names  of  the  Principal  Stars  corresponding  to  the  Greek  letters  in  each  Constellation  is 
given  on  page  16. 


DESCRIPTION   OF   MAP   X. 

(URIGA  is  still  near  the  North,  the  bright  star  Capella  will  be  seen  scintillating  above  the 
horizon.  Perseus  has  risen  a  little  higher  in  the  sky,  and  is  now  nearly  North-East ;  while 
above  it  is  Cassiopeia  and  Cepheus.  To  the  left  of  Cepheus  is  Ursa  Minor,  which  is  still 
above  the  Pole  Star,  but  it  has  now  fallen  towards  the  left. 

Andromeda  lies  horizontal  between  the  North-East  and  the  East ;  while  below  it  will  be 
seen  Triangulum.  Pegasus  is  to  the  right  of  Andromeda ;  it  is  now  due  East  and  completely 
above  the  horizon ;  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  Great  Square  is  tilted  up,  the  diagonal  formed  by 
the  stars  Algenib  and  Scheat  is  nearly  vertical.  . 
Pisces  is  beginning  to  appear  again,  part  of  it  being  above  the  horizon  and  directly  underneath  Pegasus.  To 
the  right  of  Pisces  is  Aquarius,  the  water-bearer,  the  second  last  constellation  of  the  Zodiac ;  while  to  the  right  of 
Aquarius,  and  a  little  beyond  the  South-East,  will  be  seen  another  Zodiacal  constellation — Capricornus,  the  goat. 
Above  Capricornus  is  Aquila,  with  its  leading  brilliant  Altair ;  to  the  left  of  which  will  be  seen  Delphinus,  and 
above  the  Dolphin  is  the  conspicuous  Cross  of  Cygnus — Arided  (a)  being  at  the  top,  and  Albireo  (ft)  at  the 
bottom.  To  the  right  of  the  Swan  is  Lyra ;  the  bright  Vega  is  now  due  South  and  high  up  in  the  heavens  over- 
head ;  observe  the  conspicuous  triangle  formed  by  the  stars  Vega,  Altair,  and  Arided. 

In  the  South  we  see  Sagittarius,  part  of  it  only  being  above  the  horizon  ;  to  the  right  of  it  and  nearly  South- 
West  is  Scorpio  with  its  ruddy  Antares,  now  nearing  the  horizon.  Above  Scorpio  is  Ophiuchus,  to  the  right  of 
which  is  Serpens;  while  above  the  Serpent  is  the  Northern  Crown.  Hercules  is  above  the  Serpent-bearer,  and 
above  Hercules  is  the  head  of  Draco,  now  exactly  overhead ;  the  tail  of  the  Dragon  will  be  observed  twisting 
down  towards  the  North. 

Virgo  will  be  seen  setting  in  the  West,  the  brilliant  star  Spica  is  rapidly  sinking  below  the  horizon.  Coma 
Berenices  is  in  the  West  above  Vindemiatrix  (e  of  Virgo);  while  to  the  left  of  Coma  Berenices,  is  Arcturus  in  Bootes. 
Part  of  Leo  has  now  disappeared  below  the  horizon,  the  remaining  part  of  it  which  is  visible  will  soon  sink  out 
of  sight ;  above  the  star  8  in  the  Lion  will  be  seen  Cor  Caroli,  to  the  right  of  which  is  the  Great  Bear,now  North- 
West  and  midway  betweeen  the  horizon  and  the  zenith. 


26 


DESCRIPTION   OF   MAP   XI. 

HE  bright  Capella,  in  Auriga,  is  now  nearly  North-East,  and  well  above t the  horizon;  to  the 
right  of  it  we  see  Perseus  ;  below  which  will  be  noticed  the  Pleiades,  low  down  on  the  horizon, 
which  shows  us  that  Taurus  is  about  to  make  its  appearance  for  the  winter  months.  Above 
Perseus  is  Cassiopeia,  and  above,  and  to  the  left  of  Cassiopeia,  is  Cepheus,  now  nearly  overhead; 
the  branching  of  the  Milky  Way  near  a  (Alderamin)  is  well  worthy  of  notice. 

Aries  is  to  the  right  of  the  Pleiades;  while  above  it  is  Triangulum  and  Andromeda, 
Pegasus,  which  has  attained  a  fair  elevation,  is  now  between  the  East  and  the  South-East ;  the 
Great  Square  is  still  tilted  up,  Scheat  being  nearly  above  Algenib ;  below  the  Square  Pisces 
will  be  seen — this  constellation,  which  is  not  a  very  conspicuous  one,  consists  of  two  fishes  linked  together  by 
a  ribbon,  the  one  fish  lies  parallel  with  the  bottom  side  of  the  Square  of  Pegasus,  and  the  other  with  the  left 
side  of  the  Square.  Below  Enif^  in  Pegasus,  is  Aquarius,  now  at  a  fair  height  above  the  horizon,  while  to 
the  right  of  the  Water-Bearer  is  Capricornus,  now  nearly  South. 

Above  Capricornus  we  see  the  conspicuous  Altair,  in  the  Eagle ;  to  the  left  of  which  is  Delphinus.     Above 
the  Dolphin,  and  nearly  overhead  is  the  brilliant  Cross  of  Cygnus,  now  exactly  South. 

[  Some  years  ago  astronomers  were  startled  by  the  sudden  appearance  of  a  con- 
spicuous star  to  the  left  of  Arided  in  the  Swan,  in  a  place  where  no  star  had  been 
visible  to  the  naked  eye  before.  This  strange  star  was  first  noticed  by  Professor  Schmidt 
of  Athens,  on  the  24th  of  November  1876:  it  obtained  the  same  brightness  as  a  star  of 
the  third  magnitude,  and  then  gradually  faded  away,  and  disappeared,  till  it  required  a 
telescope  to  reveal  it.  The  exact  position  where  this  star  appeared  will  be  seen  in  Fig.  12.  Fig.  12 — Cygnus,  with 
In  the  same  Fig.  there  will  be  seen  a  small  star  marked  61  (a  double  star);  this  is  the  New  Star, 

noted  6 1  Cygni — the  nearest  known  star  to  us  in  the  Northern  hemisphere.  With  regard  to  it  Webb,  in  his 
"Celestial  Objects,"  says: — "These  suns  were  the  first  of  the  host  of  heaven  to  reveal  to  Bessel,  in  1838,  the 
secret  of  their  distance.  This  is,  probably,  366,400  times  that  of  the  earth  from  the  sun — itself  92,400,000 
miles — a  space  so  vast  that  the  light,  which  reaches  us  from  the  sun  in  8  minutes,  employs  nearly  6  years  to 
traverse  it  ...  How  vast  must  be  the  dimensions  of  this  great  Universe !  What  a  temple  for  the  Creator's  glory ! 
'All  the  whole  heavens  are  the  LORD'S' — those  heavens  are  crowded  with  millions  of  millions  of  stars;  and 
of  all  that  countless  multitude,  millions,  probably,  for  one,  are  at  a  distance  incalculably  exceeding  that  of  61 
Cygni!"] 

Between  the  South  and  the  South-East  Sagittarius  will  be  seen  setting ;  and  to  the  right  of  it  is  Ophiuchus 

rapidly  approaching  the  horizon.     Serpens  is  to  the  right  of  Ophiuchus ;  while  above  the  head  of  the  Serpent  is 

Hercules.     The  brilliant  Vega,  in  Lyra,  has  now  passed  the  South,  and  is  gradually  sinking  lower  in  the  heavens. 

To  the  right  of  Hercules  is  Corona  Borealis,  and  further  in  the  same  direction  is  Bootes,  its  leading  star 

Arcturus  being  to  the  right  of  the  West,  and  near  the  horizon. 

In  the  North-West  we  see  Cor  Caroli,  and  above  it  the  Great  Bear,  which  is  now  nearing  the  North,  but  not 
like  other  constellations  to  disappear  below  the  horizon,  for,  as  Homer  mentions,*  it  is  "  denied  to  slake  its  beams 
in  Ocean's  briny  baths,"  or,  in  other  words,  to  set,  or  sink  below  the  horizon.  Above  Ursa  Major  is  Draco,  which 
has  now  fallen  away  from  overhead ;  to  the  right  of  Draco  will  be  seen  the  Little  Bear  ;  the  Guardians  of  the  Pole 
being  to  the  right  of  Polaris. 

"  In  his  description  of  the  shield  of  Achilles,  on  which  there  was  engraved — 

"  The  Heaven,  the  Sea, 

The  Sun  that  rests  not,  and  the  moon  full-orb'd. 
There,  also,  all  the  stars  which  round  about 
As  with  a  radiant  frontlet  bind  the  skies, 
The  Pleiades  and  Hyades,  and  the  might 
Of  the  huge  Orion,  with  him  Ursa  call'd, 
Known  also  by  his  popular  name,  the  Wain, 
Which  wheeling  round  the  Pole  still  looks  toward 
Orion  ;  only  star  of  these  denied 
To  slake  his  beams  in  Ocean's  briny  baths."  27 


MAP    XI. 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  AUGUST  AND  SEPTEMBER. 


H±HON 


SOUTH 

Tne  above  Map   is  a  representation  of  the  Starry  Heavens   in  the  Evening  at  the  following  Dates  and 

Hours  : — 


A  UGUST 


at 


16 

21 


II.O 

10.40 

IO.2O 
IO.O 


AUGUST      26   at 

3i    „ 
SEPTEMBER  6 


9.40 
9.20 
9.0 
8.40 


SEPTEMBER  16  at 
21  „ 
26  „ 

OCTOBER      i    „ 


8.20 
8.0 

7.40 
7.20 


The  Circular  boundary  of  this  Map  represents  the  Horizon,  with  the  principal  points  of  the  compass 
indicated.  The  Cross  in  the  centre  is  the  zenith  or  that  part  of  the  sky  which  is  directly  overhead. 

A  list  of  Arabic  names  of  the  Principal  Stars  corresponding  to  the  Greek  letters  in  each  Constellation  is 
given  on  pape  16. 


MAP  XII. 

THE  CONSTELLATIONS  FOR  SEPTEMBER  AND  OCTOBER. 


HiaON 


SOUTH 


The  above  Map  is  a  representation  of  the  Starry  Heavens  in  the  Evening  at  the  following  Dates  and 

Hours  : — 


SKPTEMBER  11 
26 

21 
26 


at 


10.40 
10.20 
10.0 
9.40 


OCTOBER 


i 
6 
1 1 
16 


at 


9.20 

9.0 

8.40 

8.20 


OCTOBER     21 

26 

31 
NOVEMBER  6 


at 


8.0 

7.40 
7.20 

7.0 


The  circular  boundary  of  this  Map  represents  the  Horizon,  with  the  principal  points  of  the  compass 
indicated.  The  Cross  in  the  centre  is  the  zenith  or  that  part  of  the  sky  which  is  directly  overhead. 

A  list  of  Arabic  names  of  the  Principal  Stars  corresponding  to  the  Greek  letters  in  each  Constellation 
is  given  on  page  16. 


DESCRIPTION    OF    MAP    XII. 

RSA  MAJOR  is  near  the  North ;  that  part  of  this  constellation  which  is  called  the  Plough  now 
being  between  the  North  and  the  North-West,  and  at  a  fair  elevation  above  the  horizon. 
Below  the  tail  of  the  Bear  is  Canes  Venatici ;  above  it  is  Draco,  and  above  the  Dragon 
is  Ursa  Minor,  which  will  now  be  seen  to  the  left  of  the  Pole  Star ;  directly  above  Polaris  and 
nearly  overhead  is  Cepheus ;  and  below  Cepheus  and  the  to  right  is  Cassiopeia,  the  seated  lady. 
In  the  North-East  we  now  see  Auriga  with  its  brilliant  Capella  well  above  the  horizon ; 
between  Capella  and  Cassiopeia  is  Perseus,  the  rescuer  bf  Andromeda,  with  the  head  of 
Medusa.  Between  the  East  and  the  North-East  Taurus  will  be  seen,  with  its  leading  star,  the 
ruddy  Aldebaran,  and  its  conspicuous  cluster  of  stars,  the  Pleiades ;  the  whole  of  this  constellation  of  the  Bull  has 
now  risen  clearly  above  the  horizon,  which  reminds  us  that  the  winter  constellations  are  again  coming  round. 

Stretching  along  the  horizon  from  the  East  to  the  South-East  we  see  the  Whale,  Cetus,  with  its  remarkable 
variable  star  Mira.  In  Grecian  mythology  this  constellation  represents  the -great  sea-monster  that  Neptune  sent 
to  devour  Andromeda,  but  Perseus  interfered  in  time  to  save  her.  Above  the  head  of  Cetus  is  Aries  with 
Triangulum ,  while  above  the  Triangle  is  Andromeda ;  below  which,  and  to  the  right  of  Aries,  is  Pisces. 

Nearly  South  we  see  the  winged  horse  Pegasus ;  the  Great  Square  being  in  the  South-East,  and  midway 
between  the  horizon  and  the  zenith.  Directly  beneath  the  neck  of  the  Flying  Horse  and  just  tipping  the  horizon 
will  be  seen  Fomalhaut,  the  brightest  star  in  Pisces  Australis ;  above  it  we  see  Aquarius ;  to  the  right  of  the  Water- 
Bearer,  Capricornus  will  be  noticed,  and  exactly  South- West  is  Sagittarius,  which  has  all  but  disappeared. 

In  the  South-West  and  at  a  high  elevation  will  be  seen  the  conspicuous  Cross  of  Cygnus,  now  standing  up- 
right ;  below  it  and  to  the  left  is  Altair  in  Aquila.  To  the  right  of  the  Cross  of  Cygnus  is  the  brilliant  Vega 
in  Lyra,  which  is  now  due  West  and  exactly  between  the  point  overhead  and  the  horizon ;  below  Vega  is 
Hercules,  and  underneath  Hercules  is  Ophiuchus  with  Serpens.  Between  the  West  and  North-West  is  Corona 
Borealis  ;  below  and  to  the  right  of  which  is  Arcturus,  in  Bootes,  just  above  the  horizon  ;  while  above  Bootes  is 
Draco,  now  exactly  North-West. 


28 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORRC 
LOAN  DEPT. 


Renewed  books  are  subject  t 

. 

•l2da'58PT 


